MDCN inducts 53 UNILORIN medical graduands

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has inducted 53 medical graduands of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, even as it threatened to deregister any erring medical practitioner who engaged in any unprofessional conduct.
MDCN Registrar, Dr. Abdulmumini Ibrahim, handed down the warning while addressing the 33rd professional initiation and admission ceremony of 53 medical graduands, held at the institution last Tuesday.
Represented by Dr. Zinat Saadu, Dr Ibrahim said the Council had observed with dismay that some medical practitioners now register clinics for non-practitioners, where they engage in unethical practices that put patients’ lives in jeopardy.
Saying that the MDCN was meant to regulate practices and discipline erring medical professionals, it is however “painful when we need to discipline our colleagues because in the first place you should not be found wanting.”
“Sadly, we also have had cases of maltreatment, and of recent, we had to shut some hospitals. Some of you register non-practitioners, knowing full well that if you have not spent up to 10 years, you cannot register a clinic. It’s sad, when we are entrusted with life, which is irreplaceable, and we are found wanting. Gone are the days when we were left to be judged by our conscience; today there are bodies that will sanction you, and even your name may be erased from the register,“ he said.
Lamenting that there were not enough medical doctors in the country, he said that the few ones available must have the fear of God, conscience and dignity.
He admonished the new inductees to find specialisations in different fields to enable them compete with their counterparts across the globe as well as contribute to provision of quality health care delivery in the country.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali, described the newly inducted medical graduands as special breeds, reiterating the university’s commitment to ensure that the College of Medicine ranks among the best in the world.
He said, “The University will continue to provide quality medical education in order to see that the College of Medicine excels and ranks among the best in the world.”
College of Health Sciences Provost, Prof Wahab Johnson, said, with the 53 new medical inductees, the university has so far graduated 4,313 doctors since the inaugural event of the first class in 1983.