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The Medical and Dental Council Ghana has inducted 204 newly qualified medical doctors and dentists into the medical and dental profession after they had met the minimum academic and professional requirements.
The induction entitles them to a provisional registration certificate authorising them to commence their pre-registration practice commonly referred to as ‘housemanship’, and this will be done in accredited institutions across the country.
Drawn from the foremost medical and dental schools in the country — the University of Ghana Medical School and the University of Ghana Dental School, the inductees would be eligible for permanent registration only after they have met the pre-registration standards.
Taking the oath, the inductees pledged, among others, to dedicate their lives to the service of humanity; respect the autonomy and dignity of their patients and maintain the utmost respect for human life.
The Medical and Dental Council is the statutory body established by law under Part II of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857), to secure in the public interest the highest standards in the training and practice of medicine and dentistry in Ghana.
Present at the induction were members of the board of the council, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health (MOH), Clement Boateng, who represented the sector minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, and families and friends of the inductees.
The Chairman of Council, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, who administered the Hippocratic Oath to the inductees, admonished the new doctors to prioritise the care of their patients as well as show them respect.
"You must show respect for human life. You must make the care of your patients your first concern.
Protect and promote the health of patients and the public.
Treat patients as individuals and respect their dignity. Treat patients politely and considerately.
Respect patients' right to confidentiality," he admonished.
Furthermore, he asked them to listen to patients and respond to their concerns and preferences, give them the information they want or need in a way they would understand and not to discriminate against the knowledgeable or ignorant ones.
Professor Akosa, a former Director General of the Ghana Health Service, also charged the inductees to respect patients’ right to reach decisions with them about the treatment, care and support for patients in caring for themselves in order to improve and maintain their health.
To the parents, guardians, friends and relations who assisted the inductees to get that far, he commended them for adding to the number of medical and dental practitioners in the country.
The Registrar of the Council, Dr Divine Ndonbi Banyubala, threw light on the rollout of the national common registration examination for all newly qualified doctors and dentists in Ghana, explaining that the goal was not to create new hurdles, but to uphold public confidence that every practitioner licensed in Ghana had met the same rigorous standard.
He explained that a common licensure exams would foster fairness by levelling the playing field for all graduates, irrespective of their country of training, and improve upon transparency and objectivity in the licensure processes.
"It will also facilitate our regional and international recognition of the qualifications by demonstrating that Ghana's licensure standards are in line with global medical regulatory norms," he said.
Dr Boateng said the success of government’s Free Primary Healthcare Policy depended on the willingness of doctors and dentists to serve where their expertise were most needed, adding that, to each patient they would treat and each community they would serve brought Ghana closer to achieving universal health coverage.
For the council, he disclosed that phase one of the council's specialist training center and head office complex had been completed, and would soon be inaugurated, adding that additional World Bank funding had been secured to commence and complete the phase two.
