Monday, 25 July 2016

Controversy at 2016 Graduation:

UB medical doctors denied Hyppocratic oath
By Ajongakou Santos & Boris Esono
Although their admission into the medical school was plain, their training rigorous and to say the least professional, their going out however was marked by controversy. It was Black Friday for medicine students, consequently the entire University as Medicine grandaunds were prohibited from taking the Hippocratic Oath which solidifies their entry into the Medicine profession.
                According to the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, the 90 medicine students will have to wait until another date still-to-be-announced is chosen for them to take the Hippocratic Oath.
                As shocking as it was, many people, most of them parents, wondered in disagreement given that it was the first time witnessing such controversy at UB graduation ceremony.
                Meantime it was easier for the other departments (Nursing and Medical Laboratory Sciences) who all graduated, and accepted to take the oath.
                The Median gathered that there is an “unending disagreement” between the Cameroon Medical Council and the University of Buea over the award of certificates to Medicine graduates. Information gotten from some of the furious medicine graduates revealed that Certificates of the 2015 batch of Medical Doctors have not been printed. So, they find themselves in a conundrum, bothered that 2016 batch whose certificates have also not been printed would have to be put on hold until the situation is resolved.

                Speaking to The Median Newspaper, Mr. Mekolle Julius, graduating Medical Doctor said “the outcome of the whole saga is no surprise to me given that my mindset was already prepared knowing that there would be no oath taking for us”. He went on to call on his fellow colleagues to take the situation with great caution and wait for the oath taking ceremony that will be organized.
                This cautious attitude was not felt by Dr. ObaseMusono Ralph, who said “it is crazy and something that has never happened in the history of students graduating from Medicine”. According to him, the Cameroon Medical Council says that the Hippocratic Oath is supposed to take place in their presence after which certificates are awarded which is a different scenario in UB where certificates are only awarded at the end of the long study”. Inferring therefore from their narrations, it is but clear that the two parties (the Cameroon Medical Council and the University of Buea) must have to come to a consensus to satisfy these graduates whose certificates have been sacrificed in exchange for disagreement.
                Under the patronage of the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council, Prof Maurice Tchuente, UB’s graduation of the 4th batch of Medical Doctors, 16th batch of Senior Nurses, the 16th batch of Senior Medical Laboratory Scientists, and the 8th batch of masters of Science in Chemical Pathology & medical micro-biology and parasitology, was in the presence of the Secretary General at the Governor’s office- Mr. FonNdikum Clement, SG at the Ministry of Health, UB’s Vice Chancellor-Prof NalovaLyonga, Vice Deans, Academic Staff, Parents.
                According to the Dean of FHS, Prof NgoweNgoweMarcelin, these students are already working in and out of Cameroon saving lives and self-sustainability.
                In total, there were 176 graduates; 32 Senior Medical Laboratory Scientists, 35 Senior Nurses, 90 Medical Doctors and 19 graduates with masters degrees.
                On her part, Prof NalovaLyonga, congratulated the students for their brilliant performance during the National exams in which FHS came first. She has also called on the government to provide more staff to the Faculty Health Sciences that will ease the teaching and learning process.
                The ceremony was marked by the award of prizes to meritorious students from the three departments that make up the faculty of health sciences. Tamambang Rita was best Medicine student with a GPA of 3.68. NkonghoAchere, was best Nursing graduating student with GPA 3.61 and Nzeh Alphonse as best student of Medical Laboratory Sciences with a GPA of 3.66.



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