MDCN advises doctors to complete housemanship before relocating

On Dec 20, 2023

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has advised new medical students against leaving the country without doing their housemanship.

The Registrar of the MDCN, Dr Tajudeen Sanusi, gave this advice at the first and second induction ceremony of students of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Ondo State into the medical and dental profession. No fewer than 62 medical students took the Hippocratic Oath.

Represented by the Deputy Registrar of the council, Dr. Henry Okwuokenye, the registrar advised the inductees to strictly adhere to the ethics of the medical profession.

He said, “No problem if you want to ‘japa’, but if you must go, go well, make sure you do what is right before you go. Make sure you complete your housemanship before you leave and make sure you upgrade your career if you get over there.”

The registrar, who commended the university for maintaining the standard in the training of medical practitioners in the country, urged UNIMED to increase its medical students’ quota.

The guest lecturer at the induction, and President of the Nigerian Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Prof. Olawunmi Fatusi, said there was a need for young medical doctors to make God as their guide in their medical journey, and not follow the trends.

In a lecture titled ‘Let your light shine, so shine’, the don also urged the students not to abandon their parents in Nigeria, if they must travel out of Nigeria, lamenting that many medical professionals, after leaving the country, would not see their parents again until their deaths.

“Treasure and nurture those relationships all your life. One of the unfortunate fallouts of the “japa” phenomenon is that of health professionals living abroad who hardly ever pay visits to their parents back home but only turn up for their burials. Such professionals may indeed be sending money home regularly to their parents, which is good, but it is not good enough,” she warned.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, said the university would continue to maintain its standards.

He said, “This induction ceremony has a special place not only in the history of UNIMED but also in the history of health professions education in Nigeria. We will continue to make the university an institution that breaks barriers and one with a focus and vision,” he said.

PUNCH/Wumi