We won’t recognize doctors trained in Ukraine – Medical and Dental Council

The Medical and Dental Council of Ghana has said that it will no longer recognise degree certificates issued by Medical and Dental Schools from Ukraine, as some schools have resorted to studying online.

According to a citinewsroom report, the council said that the training of these students online is not in accordance with the required process and will not be accepted as it threatens the quality and credence of the profession.

“Training to be a doctor must be in accordance with established strategies. Will potential patients be happy to be treated by a doctor who was trained online? We have to take our public interest responsibility seriously. The point is what is the kind of training that is acceptable in the world? If it is not standard, then, I am afraid, this regulator will not give any stamp of approval,” citinewsroom quoted the Council’s Registrar, Dr. Divine Ndonbi Banyubala.

He therefore urged students to take advantage of the government’s intervention to continue their training in Ghana rather than taking online lessons.

According to citinewsroom.com, the newly trained doctors are granted licenses to practice in Ghana after the examination.

In 2019 for instance, a total of 157 out of 225 foreign-trained Ghanaian doctors who sat for the Medical and Dental Council (MDC)’s examination failed.

Only 68, representing a 30.2 per cent pass rate, were able to prove their mettle in the examination.

The 225 comprises 208 general duty medical doctors, eight general duty dentists, eight specialists and a ‘matured’ candidate, who studied in more than 10 universities in China, Ukraine, Russia, Philippine and Belarus for six years.

The bi-annual examination, introduced in 2000, is to ensure that doctors trained in other countries had the requisite knowledge and skill to offer medical and dental care to patients in the country.