The President Bola Tinubu administration has revealed plans toward upscaling the number of doctors in the country.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during the induction ceremony for 211 foreign graduates at the council’s headquarters in Abuja on Friday.
He said the federal government was working towards doubling the enrollment population of doctors and dentists from 5,000 to 10,000 in the next academic year by increasing admission into medical and dental institutions.
He noted that training of foreign doctors came with peculiarities considering the cost and the terrain they were trained in.
Dr Alausa urged the newly inducted graduates of medicine and dentistry from foreign institutions to abide by the ethics of the medical profession in the country.
He enjoined them to always prioritise the health and wellbeing of their patients.
The Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Dr Tajudeen Sanusi, said over 700 medical and dental graduates from foreign institutions appeared for the July 2023 assessment examination, and that 189 medical graduates and 16 dental graduates out of the number passed.
He said six other graduates who passed the previous assessment examination but could not participate in their induction ceremony were also inducted with the current set.
Sanusi said assessment examination was important, saying, it was geared towards assessing the graduates’ knowledge to ensure that patients are safe in their hands.
