NARD asks FG to implement Medical Residency Training Act

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD)has appealed to the federal government to implement the Chief Medical Residency Training Act.

This was disclosed at a resolution reached during the 44th annual Annual General Meeting (AGM) and scientific conference held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The National President of NARD, Dr. Tope Oshindara, explained that the purpose of the act is to regulate residency training in most hospitals, noting that without regulation, doctors may decide to stop residency training in their hospitals.

He said that the Medical Residency Training Act is more like a policy and a guiding principle for residency within the hospital, ensuring that hospitals can have trained doctors and not quacks in several disciplines within medical practice.

“The Chief Medical Residency Training Act aims to regulate residency training in most of our hospitals. Without regulation, you will agree with me that some nurses and medical directors, chief medical directors at several hospitals, can just decide to stop their residency programs for reasons known to them,” he said.

“The reason why we came up with this policy, the Medical Residency Training Act, is to provide a guiding principle for residency within the hospital, so that we can have trained doctors and not quacks in several disciplines within medical practice, which is why we developed the Medical Residency Training Act.”

He also noted that doctors can’t fund medical residency training themselves because they are service providers and researchers, which requires subvention. However, there is a lack of political will to fund medical residency.

“For some of the governors that have to domesticate this training act, the lack of political will has hindered the domestication of medical training and the supply of funds for this training,” he added

“Some of them do not have the interest to fund medical residency training, and you cannot expect a doctor to begin to fund their training out of their salary. Doctors are not just providing services; they are also conducting research, and there should be some subvention for this program. But the lack of political will to fund this medical residency is what has been hindering residency training in some of our states, especially in teaching hospitals.”

Speaking on the issue of “Japa,” Dr. Oshindara urged the government to prioritize the welfare and safety of doctors and health workers.

He posited that the brain drain and shortage of manpower have caused the “Japa syndrome” witnessed in Nigeria.

Oshindara added that most doctors want to ease their stress, which is why they are looking for greener pastures or seeking places where they can find better welfare.

He said, “In Nigeria, we have one doctor attending to about 600 patients, which is way beyond the WHO standard. This increasing burden affects mental health and places doctors’ mental well-being in a very unfortunate situation.

“Nobody cares about this, which is one of the reasons why people decide to leave the system and go to where their welfare will be properly attended to. So, we are calling on relevant stakeholders in the health system and the government to help increase remuneration for doctors. Perhaps by doing so, we can mitigate the “Japa syndrome” and retain some of our doctors, who are our best assets in the country, ensuring that our people can be adequately attended to.

“There is a need for the government to properly ensure the safety of doctors and other health workers within hospitals. The situation concerning the “Japa syndrome” is very dire. Sometimes, what has also contributed to this “Japa” phenomenon in Nigeria is brain drain and a shortage of manpower.

“Most doctors want to ease their stress, which is why some of them are looking for greener pastures or seeking places where they can find better welfare.”

He also appealed for a joint effort among stakeholders, security agencies, and the federal government to utilize all strengths for the release of Dr. Popoola Ganiyat, who was kidnapped.

He said, “As for Dr. Popoola Ganiyat, I would first like to appreciate the federal government and the security apparatus involved. It is not that they are not doing their best to rescue her from the captivity of her abductors. However, we want to encourage them to do more, and we will not rest until she is free.”