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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