A Coalition of parents of foreign-trained doctors in Nigeria has accused the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) of “highhandedness” in the procedure of certifying their wards.

They questioned the transparency of the traditional “assessment examination”, an entrance test required of doctors to scale through MDCN certification, faulting the incessant mass failure of foreign-trained doctors.

Addressing journalists in Kano, yesterday, chairman of the coalition, Prof. Lukman Diso, said despite rigorous training of the young doctors and their parents’ sacrifices, “it is disheartening” that the young doctors would still be subjected to undue pressure and systematic extortion by MDCN before registration.

Diso was worried that contrary to the operational guidelines of MDCN, as contained in the ‘Registration of Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, CAP M8, 2006, Section 8,11,12 & 14’, the council continued to subject foreign-trained Nigerian doctors to unnecessary assessment.

He said, unlike others, MDCN compelled the foreign-trained doctors to write “assessment exam” with a registration fee of N135,000, N200,000 for hospital attachment and N100,000 for tutorial.

“The operational guidelines of MDCN declared that Nigerian graduates of accredited foreign medical schools are entitled to provisional registration upon their return to the country to enable them undertake their internship.

“However, Nigerian graduates of accredited foreign medical schools, along with those who do not possess recognised qualifications, are required to sit and pass Council’s assessment examination before they can be registered,” he said.

According to him, under normal circumstances, no condition could warrant the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to grant waiver to anyone who so wishes. “Yet, MDCN denies the doctors participation in the scheme. This is a clear violation of national law and the doctors’ fundamental rights.”

The don stressed that “MDCN has succeeded” in turning the assessment exam to a lucrative venture and unconstitutional cash cow, a development that has continued to rear its ugly head despite several appeals to concerned authorities.

The parents, who are demanding justice for over 8,000 foreign-trained doctors currently stagnated with unwarranted conditions of MDCN, warned against further of brain drain in the country’s healthcare sector.