The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) on Wednesday inducted 160 medical students of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, into the medical profession.

The event which took place in the Old Great Hall of the College of Medicine, had inductees which included 134 MB, BS, and 26 BDS students.

Delivering his welcome address, the Provost, Prof. David Oke, on behalf of the management, staff, and students of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, welcomed everyone to the oath-taking ceremony.

He congratulated and saluted the inductees for their perseverance during their course of study at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos.

He also charged the inductees to be good ambassadors of the college and the nation.

“Remember that your training is a combination of godliness and excellence, which is what will define your future.

“The good physician treats the patient who has the disease. If you want to succeed in this profession, never neglect your connection with the Great Physician”.

Oke noted the difficulties facing most Nigerians currently, but expressed confidence that the inductees would pull through by relying on the training they had received.

He said: “It is a well established fact that the Nigerian terrain is difficult.

“But I am confident that with the quality of training you have received, you will rise above all the difficulties you may encounter and make positive impact in your chosen profession — the health sector.

“I charge you inductees that your future should not be a confusing time, but a demanding and challenging time.

“Demanding because it will often require you to multitask, undergo interdisciplinary collaborations; challenging because it is a terrain you are not used to but you have to flourish”.

The provost also enjoined the inductees to explore new frontiers of knowledge and become distinguished professional practitioners.

He said that, over the years, in spite the increase in the student population, funding to the health sector had dwindled.

He added that this had resulted in decay in the college’s infrastructure, in spite efforts of successive administrations.

He, therefore, called on the college’s alumni, corporate bodies and philanthropic individuals to invest in the college.

He also acknowledged the parents and guardians of the inductees and the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Dr T.A.S. Sanusi, for making time to conduct the oath-taking ceremony.

Speaking, Sanusi, reminded the inductees that the medical profession i was a regulated one and admonished the inductees to be mindful of their interaction with social media.

He informed the graduands that housemanship job was centralised and urged them to log on to the MDCN website to apply.

He emphasised the code of conduct for medical practitioners and implored the new doctors to adhere to the rules and regulations governing the medical profession.

“This is a regulated profession; there are certain conducts expected of you as doctors, you don’t go to the social media disparaging your regulatory body,” he said.

Sanusi added that the attitude of taking every matter to social media may cause the inductees to disclose confidential information about patients under their care to the public of the social media.

He warned that this would, thereby, be violation of their oath and affirmation to keep patients’ medical information private.

He warned the inductees of strict sanctions and punishment prescribed by the law against any inductee found at any point in time to break the guidelines, whether in Nigeria or abroad.

Dr Olayemi Dawodu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Clina Lancet Laboratories and an alumnus of CMUL, charged the inductees to remember that graduation was not merely an end point, but a start of a new chapter— a dawn of new possibilities.

Dawodu encouraged the inductees to continue to seek knowledge, embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and always uphold the highest standards of ethical practice and compassionate care.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the induction ceremony also featured an induction lecture, which was delivered by Dr Olayemi Dawodu, an alumna of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos and CEO of Clina Lancet Laboratories Nigeria.

There was sashing of the inductees as well as the presentation of awards and prizes to the best graduating students.

The College Secretary, Dr Olayinka Obafemi-Moses, in his vote of thanks, congratulated the new doctors and their parents and wished them success in their careers.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria