The President, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Ijanikin, Lagos, Prof. Ademola Olaitan, has urged the Federal Government to improve on the funding of the college, especially regarding the provision of a laboratory for the training of specialised doctors.
Olaitan made the call during the second diplomates’ graduation ceremony held at the college.
According to him, the establishment and construction of a clinical skill and simulation laboratory for the training of resident doctors, had always received a priority attention at the college.
Disclosing that funding had been a major challenge, he said before now, the project was considered as that of the college and the Federal Ministry of Health but “a new approach to get the ministers of health and education to jointly solicit support and sponsorship from the Federal Executive Council in the geo-political zone is being pursued.”
Olaitan also said that while pursuing this option, the college would continue to look at the possibility of partnering with manufacturing companies and collaborating with existing Simulation and Skills Acquisition Centers internationally.
On the achievements of the college, he said apart from the joint award of diplomas to the second graduating set in Family Medicine and first in Anaesthesis, a total of 386 fellows would be graduating next Thursday.
Olaitan added that this would further show that the college had not shirked in its responsibility of fulfilling the mandate for which it was established.
“With this number, the college has succeeded, not only in saving the nation, this year as always in other years, millions of dollars that could have been spent on training had these new fellows trained outside Nigeria,” he said.
The college president also disclosed that computation of the list of new fellows along with the older ones had proudly indicated that the college had produced a total of 5,773 fellows, “and they are spread all over the nation and globally, rendering selfless services in the academia, public services, private sectors, the armed forces and the police.
On the programme, he explained that the need to improve the quality of care and services provided by the private sector, a critical group handling about 70 per cent health services delivery, informed the initiation of the Postgraduate Diploma training in Family Medicine, and later Anaesthesia, by the
college.
“I want to assure you of the college’s desires and commitment to continuously improve on the quality of these programmes in line with our national health needs and international best practices,” Olaitan said.
While congratulating the diplomates, the college president noted that their new certificates would not only put food on their table, but it would also provide opportunities “for you to utilise it to wipe away sorrows and tears from as many patients as will come your way.”
A total of 146 diplomates graduated at the
event.
