The Medical and Dental Council of Ghana has inducted the second batch of newly qualified physician assistants into the profession.
The 312 graduates, inducted yesterday, bring the number of physician assistants admitted by the Council to 627 over a two-day ceremony.
The induction ceremony formed part of the Medical and Dental Council’s statutory mandate under Part II of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857), which regulates the practice of doctors, dentists and physician assistants in Ghana.
The ceremony confirmed that the inductees had met the required academic, professional and ethical standards necessary to practise.
Inductees
The inductees were trained in various accredited training institutions across the country.
These include the University of Cape Coast Physician Assistantship Programme, Central University, Radford University College in Accra, the University for Health and Allied Sciences, Garden City University College in Kumasi, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the University for Development Studies in Tamale.
Others are the School of Anaesthesia at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, the School of Anaesthesia at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, the School of Anaesthesia at Ridge Hospital in Accra, and Nabita College in Tamale.
Character, commitment
The council indicated that the induction was not merely symbolic, but a public affirmation of the competence, character and commitment of the graduates to serve the public.
Addressing the inductees, the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, Dr Divine N. Banyubala, reminded them that they were transitioning from the protected environment of supervised learning into the realities of frontline professional practice.
He explained that until now their involvement in patient care had largely been guided and supervised by their teachers and clinical instructors, but from the day of their induction, they would begin to assume primary professional responsibility for the lives entrusted to their care.
Dr Banyubala said the responsibility that came with the privilege to practise medicine required competence, compassion and a high level of professional integrity.
“You are now custodians of public trust, and that trust must be earned and sustained through competence, compassion and professional integrity,” he said.
Strengthening health regulation
Dr Banyubala also highlighted a number of initiatives being undertaken by the council and the Ministry of Health to strengthen professional regulation and improve healthcare delivery in the country.
He said the council had developed a five-year strategic plan to guide its operations and respond to emerging challenges within the healthcare sector.
He added that the council had also introduced a comprehensive core competency framework for medical and dental practice in Ghana.
He explained that the framework defined the competencies expected of practitioners at the point of graduation and throughout their professional careers.
Dr Banyubala said the government had introduced a diaspora engagement policy to strengthen the country’s health workforce.
The policy seeks to encourage Ghanaian health professionals living abroad to contribute to the local health sector through knowledge sharing, mentorship, telemedicine and short-term clinical practice.
Advice
The Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, urged the newly inducted physician assistants to demonstrate professionalism, humility and respect in the discharge of their duties.
He emphasised that patients must be able to trust physician assistants to meet their health needs and therefore encouraged the inductees to listen attentively to patients and show respect for their concerns.
“Patients must be able to trust the physician assistant to satisfy their needs. Be prepared to listen to patients and recognise the limits of your competence,” he said.
Prof. Akosa stressed the importance of recognising professional limitations, warning that failure to do so could lead to serious professional consequences.
Professional integrity
Prof. Akosa also stressed the importance of honesty, integrity and accountability in professional practice.
He urged the newly inducted physician assistants to act promptly if they believed that their actions or those of their colleagues could place patients at risk.
“You must be honest and act with integrity. If you do not, then you are no different from anyone else on the street,” he said.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
