Only 357 of the 826 foreign-trained medical and dental graduates passed the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) assessment examination at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) Sokoto, in November 2021.
The overall percentage pass was lower than the previous test held in June 2020 at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Chairman of MDCN, Prof. Abba Waziri Hassan, who disclosed this at the induction of foreign-trained graduates and the commissioning of its 1000-seater auditorium, yesterday, in Abuja, said 826 medical and dental candidates sat for the examination and of the number, 341 doctors representing 41.3 per cent and 16 dental surgeons or 53.3 per cent passed, making a total of 357.
He observed that the examination was necessary to assess the quality of medical and dental students trained outside the country, adding that the conduct of the examination has been transparent and was jointly executed with the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which handled the Computer Based Test (CBT) aspect of the examination.
Hassan lamented that some of the candidates were very weak as reflected by their performances in most of the previous assessment examinations while some do not have the minimum academic requirements for admission into Nigerian Medical Schools.
“The above is a reflection of the quality of training they received in some countries abroad. It is important for their sponsors for overseas training to seek guidance from the MDCN and the National Universities Commission (NUC) as to which medical or dental schools abroad have good standards. This is available on the MDCN website and World Directorate of Medical Schools (WDMS),” he said.
Performance rate at the previous assessment examinations for foreign-trained medical and dental graduates and proposed a mandatory six-month clinical attachment with one Teaching Hospital in each of the geopolitical zones of the country to improve the quality of the foreign-trained graduates.
Speaking, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, noted that effective regulation would lead to the production of highly qualified doctors and dentists and stem the menace of quackery in the professions.
He admonished the MDCN to take the issue of accreditation of training institutions more serious to ensure that only those that meet accreditation requirements train our doctors, and ensure that only fit and proper persons are admitted into this noble profession through proper screening.
Ehanire urged the inductees to adhere strictly to the provisions of the Code of Medical Ethics, as they perform their professional duties, stressing that it would result in making Nigeria a medical tourism destination in Africa.
