• Tell your patients what’s wrong with them, expert lectures Bowen University pioneer medical graduates
From Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, recently graduated the pioneer set of its medical student-doctors from the College of Health Sciences. The young medical graduates numbering 23, and, in their twenties, were among the 993 graduands that bagged doctorate, post-graduate diplomas and first degrees during the university’s 11th convocation ceremony.
The new doctors were inducted into the medical profession by the Registrar, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Dr. Abdulmumini Ibrahim. To help them live up to expectation in the profession, a professor of medicine, Adesola Ogunniyi, gave them a professional pep talk on modern medical practice. He assured them of creditable performances and great impact in the medical practice if they abide by the rules of the practice.
Ogunniyi, a consultant neurologist, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, while delivering a lecture during the convocation, on the theme: “Best Practices in Medicine Beyond Health for All” noted that modern medical practice had transcended the era when medical doctors used to play demigods and made treatment of patients esoteric by refusing to let them know their ailments and what treatment they would entail.
“You must discuss with the relations of your patients about their conditions,” he counselled. “Gone are the days when doctors used to play demigods. But these days, you must let them know what you have to offer, the diseases they have and what you think would be the outcome of the treatment so that they can understand the right impact you are making. It should not be a matter of giving them the list of drugs and asking them to go and buy them.”
He further advised: “You must be familiar with what is going on in medicine. This is an era of evidence-based medicine. So, you must know what is current. An instance of what was going on in medicine was when about 40 medical practices were discovered to be no longer in vogue and were resulting in waste of resources. That is why you must be conscious of relevant and current information.”
Ogunniyi also urged the new doctors to consider the state of the economy by embarking on practices that are affordable and yet qualitative because of the current economic recession. He stressed that modern medical practice bordered on knowledge, economy, information and confidentiality. He also urged them to abide by the ethics of the profession, noting that, “you must be honest, abstain from evil and give your best to your patients at all times.”
He also cautioned them not to be too self-confident but to seek advice from their superiors, or from colleagues who know better when they run into difficulty while handling any case, to guide them.
The Registrar, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Abdulmumini Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of the Federal government, assured medical graduates of employment after their housemanship. He added that there are enough medical centres to absorb young doctors for housemanship. According to him, postings of medical graduates would be done centrally just like NYSC.
“So, whether you are from the private, state or federal university, you can be sure of being posted for your internship. This is the modus operandi that the Nigeria Medical Council will adopt as from 2017 in posting young doctors.”