The National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Ijanikin, Lagos, has declared the fellowship being awarded by the college as more relevant than a Doctor of Philosophy degree for lecturers in Medicine in the country’s tertiary institutions.
The President, NPMCN, Prof. Ademola Olaitan, said that the fellowship of the college would aid the progress of lecturers in Medical courses in the university system better than their possession of a PhD.
Olaitan disclosed this at the 35th convocation of the college for the award of fellowship certificates to new fellows.
According to him, comments had been made, fears expressed and diverse reactions abound on the relevance or otherwise of clinical teachers’ possession of PhD to teach or to progress in their career.
He, however, said fears about the inability to make progress, academically or administratively, as holders of the college’s fellowship or its equivalent, had long been laid to rest.
Olaitan said, “The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, brought this cheering news by his declaration and pronouncement on our college fellowship. He confirmed that the fellowship training undertaken by our college was robust and inclusive.
“He reaffirmed that possession of the college fellowship or its equivalent was all that a clinical lecturer required to get to the top of his university career and that non-possession of PhDs would not stand in their ways to the peak of their career.”
Olaitan added that the position of the NUC resulted from the proactive approach taken by the college to enlighten, discuss and dialogue through a college committee.
The NPMCN President commended the efforts of the NUC executive secretary for an in-depth investigation into the content and training programme of the college and saluted his courage for speaking the truth about it.
On the frequent industrial action by resident doctors, he said postgraduate medical and dental education in Nigeria was passing through a turbulent period.
Olaitan said, “While funding is low, the frequent work stoppages in various teaching hospitals do not allow for trainees’ fulfilment of the prescribed minimum period of clinical placements and rotations that qualify them for examinations.
“The college Senate frowns on these disruptions in services, and by implication, in training; that is why the Senate came to the conclusion that each trainee or Associate Fellow has responsibilities to ensure completion of prescribed rotations and placements on schedule to avoid disqualifications from the college fellowship examinations.”
He added that it was the opinion of the college that high investments in medical education by government would yield high quality of patients’ care.
Top among the investments in medical education, according to him, would be the resuscitation and funding of post Part 1 residents to exposure to recent and improved innovations in healthcare delivery in the developed world. Procurement of modern equipment for diagnosis and treatment would also be a worthwhile investment, he said.
Congratulating the 387 new fellows, the president said the academics and medical education presented them further avenues to showcase their worth through the impact they would make.
He urged them to make impacts on their family, on the young, among their peers and contemporaries in their place of primary duties.
“Use this achievement to impact your community, the country and the international environment. Your clinical practice and daily encounter with patients provide opportunities to influence their lives and experience,” the NPMCN president said.
