ICOMAA charges resident doctors to be resilient

President, Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association (ICOMAA), Professor Emmanuel Otolorin has charged resident doctors in Nigeria to be resilient no matter the challenges faced in their quest to get medical education.

Otolorin, who gave the charge at the public presentation of a book entitled ‘Portraits in the Hallway: 53-Year Historical Account of the Association of Resident Doctors, University College Hospital,’ decried the continuous decline in the quality of medical education and healthcare services provided to patients, blaming it on low budgetary allocation to the health sector.

Otolorin traced the history of such decline in medical education and care of patients in Nigeria to the proliferation of medical schools and the government’s mandatory students’ intake without a commensurate increase in budgetary allocation.

According to him, the Association of Resident Doctors’ industrial action or temporary withdrawal of services to push for a change only led to a cosmetic salary increase.

He added that “so many patients suffered adverse consequences of this decision. Unfortunately, the scenarios of yesteryears are still here today.”

Otolorin commended many graduates of Nigeria’s medical schools who had left the country and are making the country proud in every corner of the world.

President, National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr Aliyu Sokomba commended the author who was also a former president of the association and urged members of the association to learn how to follow order and know what the hallway stood for.

In his review, Mr. Olayinka Esan, chairman, Nigeria Bar Association, Ibadan branch, said the 20-chapter book, traces the history of the Association of Resident Doctors, the contributions of elders in the medical field, challenges in Nigeria’s medical education and the roles of Association of Resident Doctors in setting things right in the country’s healthcare system.

Dr Olusegun Olaopa, the lead author of the book and a former president of the association, in his remarks, said the book is to help recall the purpose of the Association of Resident Doctors which is to improve the standards of healthcare in Nigeria.

According to him, “We need to constantly remind ourselves of the primary purpose of the association in whatever we do or in any steps we take to ensure that the health sector is made better for the benefit of the masses.”

Other contributors to the book included Dr. Francis Fagula, Dr. Oladimeji Adebayo and Dr. Morounmubo Ibiyo, among others.

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