Newly qualified doctors, dentists undergo common licensing exams October – Minister

 Newly qualified doctors and dentists will, from October this year, undergo a Common Licensing Examination, the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has disclosed.

Mr Akandoh explained that the examination would ensure that every practitioner licensed in the country attained a uniform national standard of knowledge and skill regardless of where each person was trained.

“From October this year and beyond, anyone who desires to practise medicine or dentistry in Ghana will undergo this rigorous assessment as the final step before full licensure is given whether one was trained locally or overseas,” he said.

In a speech read for him on Saturday, at the induction ceremo­ny of 192 newly qualified doctors and dentists in Accra, Mr Akandoh directed the Medical and Dental Council to see to the implementa­tion of the policy this year.

He emphasised that the exam­ination would not only uphold the quality of health-care but also promote fairness in the evaluation of Ghanaian and foreign trained graduates.

The Minister said to maintain high standards in medical and dental education and practice, the Council in partnership with some universi­ties in the country and international partners had developed a compre­hensive core competency frame­work for the training of doctors and dentists.

According to him, the framework comprise the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of a 21st century health professional.

Mr Akandoh said another reform being considered was the amendment of Act 857 (the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013) to safeguard the public inter­est by enhancing regulatory powers.

He indicated that the government was committed to providing Free Primary Healthcare Policy, strength­ening quality of care, provision of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares), Emergency Pre­paredness and Response Sustainable Health Financing – Accra Initiative as few of the many key priority ar­eas in ensuring that Ghanaians have access to quality healthcare services.

The Minister advised the induct­ees to uphold the highest standards of conduct, adding “any lapse not only affects an individual patient but can erode public trust in our healthcare system.”

Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council, Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa, charged the inductees to exhibit a good standard of practice and care, and frequently upgrade their professional knowl­edge and skills.

Professor Akosa explained that the profession was a noble one, very demanding and in all things the practitioner must guard the trust of every patient and above all show respect for human life.

The Registrar for the induction, Dr Divine Ndonbi Banyubala, said the

inductees had met the minimum academic and professional require­ments, and would receive a provi­sional registration, authorising them to commence their pre-registration practice, commonly referred to as Housemanship, across accredited facilities in the country.

Dr Banyubala said the inductees were drawn from Family Health University, Accra; Kwame Nkru­mah University of Science and Technology – School of Dentistry, Kumasi, and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technol­ogy – School of Medical Sciences, Kumasi.

The rest are from the University of Cape Coast-School of Medical Sciences; University of Ghana Dental School, University of Ghana Medical School, Accra; and foreign trained doctors and dentists who passed the Council’s registration examination.

 BY VICTOR A. BUXTON

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