The Medical and Dental Council (MDC) over the weekend inducted 461 newly qualified medical and dental practitioners into the profession.
They were drawn from the University of Ghana Medical and Dental School, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology School of Medicine and Dentistry and the University of Development Studies School of Medicine.
The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Dr Mahama Asei Seini in Accra, beseeched the inductees to remain in the country and serve the growing population especially in the rural areas.
He indicated that recent media reportage was replete with claims of “professional negligence, improper conduct and unethical behaviour by medical practitioners” who were the very people who openly swore oaths and committed themselves to serving the public.
As such, he advised the inductees to remember the oath they had taken, the pre-induction lectures in medical professionalism and conduct, professional ethics and medical jurisprudence the council organised for them and with effort, honesty, passion and respect serve Ghanaians.
Mr Agyemang-Manu commended the inductees and the council as well as the guardians of inductees and their lecturers for the feet chalked.
Dr Constance Addo-Yabo, the chairperson for the occasion and a member of the board of the Medical and Dental Council similarly advised the inductees to “take your internship or housemanship seriously because this is where you will get lots of experience.”
She also appealed to the inductees not to leave the country in search of greener pastures.
“Do not chase greedily after money or be tempted to look for greener pastures in other countries,” she added.
Dr Yabo commended inductees and entreated them to make the health of their patients the utmost concern.
“Treat them with respect and dignity, listen to patients and respond to them in a way that improves their health and remember to keep your professional skills and knowledge up to date to remain abreast of changing trends,” she added.
The Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, Dr Divine Ndonbi Banyubala, in his address reminded the inductees that the noble, honourable, and learned profession of medicine required of them a great smile, a listening ear, a kind heart, calm nerves, a critical and reflective mind, an unalloyed commitment to lifelong learning.