College Trains 159 Ghanaian Doctors (page 31)

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons has trained 159 Ghanaian doctors in various areas in specialised medical practice at the postgraduate level between 2005 and 2008.
This is line with the its objective of encouraging Ghanaian doctors who would otherwise have travelled abroad in pursuit of further studies to do so locally.
Certificates offered at the college include Diploma, Part I & II (Membership) also Fellowship, all in various areas of medicine.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Rector of the college, Professor Paul Kwame Nyame, revealed that instead of spending about $40,000 to train one doctor in postgraduate studies abroad, the government currently spent $3,000 to train each doctor locally.
He said before the establishment of the college in 2003, Ghanaian doctors had to attend the West African College of Physicians and Surgeons in Nigeria or elsewhere in the developed countries, adding that they usually failed to return after their training.
He stressed that the level of training at the college was comparable with what obtained in similar institutions throughout the world, adding that there were always external examiners from the United Kingdom (UK), South Africa and some other African countries to go through examinations.
The rector explained that in order to avoid mediocrity, medical practitioners had to be accessed thoroughly to gain entry into the college. They also had to pass examinations.
He named some of the courses offered as anaesthesia, child health, family medicine, internal medicine, laboratory medicine, psychiatry and public health.
The rest are radiation, radiology, ear, nose and throat (ENT), oncology, general surgery, obstetric and gynaecology, ophthalmology and dental surgery.
Professor Nyame observed that in addition to the financial gains to the country for offering the training locally, the people of Ghana would continue to enjoy the services of doctors under training at the college, since they would stay at home and offer practical training at various hospitals.
According to the rector, the main objective of the college was to minimise the number of Ghanaian doctors who left the country annually and expressed the hope that its establishment would minimise the trend, as results had already started showing.
“The establishment of the college has helped to encourage many Ghanaian doctors to stay at home and work, since they are assured of opportunities to further their education locally,” he pointed out.
Touching on doctors who were already outside, he expressed the hope that those who travelled outside because of further education would come back home, adding that three of such doctors returned to enrol in the college in 2007.
The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons was established by an Act of Parliament (Act 635). That was after a group of individuals in the medical profession had advocated a national postgraduate college to provide training for specialists in medicine, surgery and allied specialities.
In pursuance of its objectives, the college, among other things, organises and supervises specialist training, continuous professional development and supports research in medicine, awards diplomas, certificates and professional distinctions and also initiates and participates in activities and discussions aimed at sound health and the formulation of public policies on health.
The college is under the Ministry of Health (MoH).