Why medical students should spend 11 years in school – Ex-NUC boss

A former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Peter Okebukola, has called for the support of the commission’s plan to make Medicine and Dentistry post-graduate programmes.

He said such will put an end to “baby doctors” syndrome as graduates would be psychologically mature to practise and would be highly competent.

Okebukola said it was standard practice across the world for medical students to have a first degree before proceeding on medical training.

According to the NUC new curriculum, a medical student would have graduated in any of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology before being admitted for the actual clinical training that would take another seven years and lead to the award of Doctor of Medicine and not just MBBS.

Okebukola told Punch that NUC put the modification plan to rigorous consultations, survey and long approval process.

He said, “In the case of the anticipated change in the training of medical doctors, the process has taken about 12 years.

“I was executive secretary when we started the national needs assessment and experts’ survey, which revealed deficiencies in our medical education programme.

“Thus, a consensus was reached by medical experts across the country that a key pathway to remediation is to adopt the global best practice in medical education of enrolling students not fresh from secondary schools but those with a first degree in disciplines allied to Medicine. After the first degree, they then proceed to the doctor of medicine degree.”

Okebukola advised those who want courses of shorter duration to elect for courses outside Medicine.

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