In recent times, the Nigerian public has expressed doubts about the competence of medical doctors following increased reports of misdiagnoses of illnesses in hospitals. Therefore, questions have been raised over the quality of medical training in the country. Investigation carried out in some medical schools in the country shows that facilities and infrastructure are seriously overstretched. At the University of Lagos College of Medicine, a correspondent to Punch news online easily mixed among the crowd of students in a crowded lecture room in the course of this investigation. Classrooms at MEDILAG were jammed full of students such that it was difficult for them to concentrate. Several students were left standing as the number of seats and tables were largely inadequate to cater for the students. About 40 minutes into the lecture, some of the students who had no seats started filing out of the room. we also gathered that classes usually hold for a minimum of two hours for each course, and so students who have to stand during the course of the lectures struggle to physically cope. Any student that is unlucky to find a seat for a three-hour lecture, will stand throughout the lecture period unless he/she chooses to forgo the lecture for comfort. Scores of students were seen moving out of classes when they got tired of standing. That is not all. During basic medical science classes for 200 and 300 level students, as many as 70 to 80 students were assigned to a cadaver (a dead body) for dissection. On one occasion, some students who had difficulty in getting close enough to the body, got discouraged. Soon enough, their mobile phones engaged their attention and interest. A student in the school who simply identified himself as Akintayo said it was difficult for them to gain much with “so many students to a cadaver”. “We are usually up to 80 students to a cadaver. That’s why in most cases, you find students chatting and playing with their phones. It’s terrible to receive lectures while standing and so, we find it hard to concentrate in class. “Each class is not less than two hours and some classes could go on for as long as four hours at a stretch, still, some students will have to stand for the duration of the lectures because of inadequate space and seats. Can you imagine students standing in class for two hours at a stretch? After a while, what usually happens is that some of us who could not get seats get tired and walk out of the class.” The situation is slightly better at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Oyo State and the College of Medicine, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, where 20 students are assigned to a cadaver. But that is just in terms of the number of students assigned to cadaver. These colleges do not have enough seats. Of the schools visited, only the College of Medicine, Lagos State University, Lagos, fared best with an average of seven students to a cadaver in their anatomy class. But a medical student of the University of Ilorin, Ajibade, while sharing his school experience, still likened some of his classes to a “marketplace.” (Click to read more)
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 10:23:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015