On a normal Thursday, I would be too busy to comment on JOHESU and
its antics. Unfortunately, an NMA strike is on and I find myself with time
enough to ponder on this grave matter.
Let me tell you a story...
Once upon a time, a magistrate asked for assistants to be employed in a
bid to make his services more efficient. After some time, they got so
good in their specific tasks, they felt
indispensable and proficient enough to do all the magistrate did. They
began to agitate to bear the titles "Esquire" and "SAN". They began to
blackmail a weak government seeking re-election.
They went on strike and locked up the courts to prevent the magistrate
from working (knowing that left alone, the magistrate could still see
cases).
These assistants also went to the media and began to mislead the
public. The government
without proper consultation or consideration of "international best
practices" agreed to the
demands of these assistants due to their large number (and monetary
influence?).
So the magistrate went on strike and left them to attend to cases.
Haba, Magistrate! Why should you have gone on strike? Here's the
reason why:
An analysis of JOHESU:
Nurses: Most nurses always wanted to be nurses. They love their
profession and work closely with doctors despite the often overbearing
attitudes of
these doctors. They appear not to be too keen on this JOHESU fight as
they lack the inferiority complex displayed by other members. Within
their ranks is a battle between the traditional
Registered Nurses and the university trained B.Sc Nurses. This may
contribute to their disinterest. A lot of them are married to doctors, have
dated doctors or have doctors as children.
PS: "Doctor" refers to a medical doctor who has sworn the Hippocratic
oath or a similar oath and carries a licence to practice Medicine.
Pharmacists:
These professionals are university trained. Unfortunately, in the
government sector, their
role appears to have been largely limited to procuring, stocking and
dispensing of medications. Their occasional attempts to involve
themselves in patient care is often tainted by the mutual suspicion
between them and the clinician (doctor) directly responsible for the
patients.
The Pharm.D (Doctor of Pharmacy) programme is currently the standard
in the USA but is under some controversy in Nigeria as other university
academics (excluding medical doctors) are unhappy by what appears to
be a shortcut to a Ph.D equivalent.
Some pharmacists want(ed) to be medical doctors. In some pharmacies,
they are already masquerading as doctors.
Some are quite satisfied being what they always dreamt of.
Optometrists:
These are trained in the University to measure refractive errors and
prescribe lenses (glasses). In addition, they receive clinical training in
management of simple eye disorders.
Ophthalmologists (medical doctors specializing in eye disorders) are
inadequate in number and are
more focussed on eye diseases. Optometrists provide valuable services
as primary care providers and even ophthalmologists go to them
for glasses...but...
They are not doctors in the medical sense. Some universities run 6 year
courses and award O.D. (Doctor of Optometry).
However, when it comes to major eye disease and eye surgery, only the
ophthalmologist is licensed to treat.
Optometrists are doing well financially based on their private practices.
They are not key militants in the JOHESU saga.
Physiotherapists:
These relatively new and few entrants into Nigeria's health sector are
University-trained to carry out physical rehabilitation of patients. Some
also run private gyms.
Depending on their training institution, they receive bachelor's or
"doctorate" degrees. Most of them will confess to have chosen to read
Medicine
initially. Like the general public, most of them were not aware of their
current profession when they got university admission.
Their association is rapidly becoming one of the more militant JOHESU
affiliates.
Medical Laboratory Scientists (Technologists?)
These are the arrow-heads of JOHESU. As a group, they have the free
time, the resources and the lack of professionalism and empathy for
suffering patients needed to start this controversy.
These staff are usually not university trained as their programmes are
run by accredited teaching hospitals. They obtain memberships and
fellowships of the institutes of Laboratory Science (or Technology)
allowing them to work in Pathology laboratories.
Virtually all of these folks had the ambition of being medical doctors but
could not meet the requirements.
In better countries than Nigeria, laboratories are headed by research
scientists (in research institutes) and by consultant pathologists (in
hospitals). Research scientists are typically Ph.D holders while
consultant pathologists are medical doctors with postgraduate
specializations in Pathology.
In Nigeria, they are quick to claim they do all the work in the
laboratories of government hospitals.
In their private practices, most masquerade as doctors, prescribing
antibiotics and other drugs after spurious "Typhoid" tests.
Having grown wings, they fired the first salvo by declaring their right to
perform accreditation for all labs in Nigeria including side-labs in private
hospitals.
The next issue was preventing resident doctors in training from
accessing the labs to carry out procedures (yet they claim they do all
the work).
It got to the point, doctors were physically harassed by laboratory
scientists and hounded by the Police and SSS on the instigation of these
technologists. Luckily, most security agencies quickly washed their hands
off this matter.
Interestingly, when JOHESU members (or their family) get ill, they never
go to their fellow JOHESU members for care or advice! They always look
privately for the same doctor they insult publicly. And the doctors still
treat them specially "as colleagues".
This JOHESU problem appears to be a problem of the teaching
hospitals. State-owned hospitals and private/institutional centres would
not condone this needless rabble-rousing and jostling for primacy.
Nigerians shouldn't permit persons without direct involvement in patient-
care add to the many problems already facing our healthcare system.
Nigeria is not the only country running a teaching hospital system. Let's
look at the successful models in other countries and make things work.
That way, all these unnecessary crises in our health system will end.
its antics. Unfortunately, an NMA strike is on and I find myself with time
enough to ponder on this grave matter.
Let me tell you a story...
Once upon a time, a magistrate asked for assistants to be employed in a
bid to make his services more efficient. After some time, they got so
good in their specific tasks, they felt
indispensable and proficient enough to do all the magistrate did. They
began to agitate to bear the titles "Esquire" and "SAN". They began to
blackmail a weak government seeking re-election.
They went on strike and locked up the courts to prevent the magistrate
from working (knowing that left alone, the magistrate could still see
cases).
These assistants also went to the media and began to mislead the
public. The government
without proper consultation or consideration of "international best
practices" agreed to the
demands of these assistants due to their large number (and monetary
influence?).
So the magistrate went on strike and left them to attend to cases.
Haba, Magistrate! Why should you have gone on strike? Here's the
reason why:
An analysis of JOHESU:
Nurses: Most nurses always wanted to be nurses. They love their
profession and work closely with doctors despite the often overbearing
attitudes of
these doctors. They appear not to be too keen on this JOHESU fight as
they lack the inferiority complex displayed by other members. Within
their ranks is a battle between the traditional
Registered Nurses and the university trained B.Sc Nurses. This may
contribute to their disinterest. A lot of them are married to doctors, have
dated doctors or have doctors as children.
PS: "Doctor" refers to a medical doctor who has sworn the Hippocratic
oath or a similar oath and carries a licence to practice Medicine.
Pharmacists:
These professionals are university trained. Unfortunately, in the
government sector, their
role appears to have been largely limited to procuring, stocking and
dispensing of medications. Their occasional attempts to involve
themselves in patient care is often tainted by the mutual suspicion
between them and the clinician (doctor) directly responsible for the
patients.
The Pharm.D (Doctor of Pharmacy) programme is currently the standard
in the USA but is under some controversy in Nigeria as other university
academics (excluding medical doctors) are unhappy by what appears to
be a shortcut to a Ph.D equivalent.
Some pharmacists want(ed) to be medical doctors. In some pharmacies,
they are already masquerading as doctors.
Some are quite satisfied being what they always dreamt of.
Optometrists:
These are trained in the University to measure refractive errors and
prescribe lenses (glasses). In addition, they receive clinical training in
management of simple eye disorders.
Ophthalmologists (medical doctors specializing in eye disorders) are
inadequate in number and are
more focussed on eye diseases. Optometrists provide valuable services
as primary care providers and even ophthalmologists go to them
for glasses...but...
They are not doctors in the medical sense. Some universities run 6 year
courses and award O.D. (Doctor of Optometry).
However, when it comes to major eye disease and eye surgery, only the
ophthalmologist is licensed to treat.
Optometrists are doing well financially based on their private practices.
They are not key militants in the JOHESU saga.
Physiotherapists:
These relatively new and few entrants into Nigeria's health sector are
University-trained to carry out physical rehabilitation of patients. Some
also run private gyms.
Depending on their training institution, they receive bachelor's or
"doctorate" degrees. Most of them will confess to have chosen to read
Medicine
initially. Like the general public, most of them were not aware of their
current profession when they got university admission.
Their association is rapidly becoming one of the more militant JOHESU
affiliates.
Medical Laboratory Scientists (Technologists?)
These are the arrow-heads of JOHESU. As a group, they have the free
time, the resources and the lack of professionalism and empathy for
suffering patients needed to start this controversy.
These staff are usually not university trained as their programmes are
run by accredited teaching hospitals. They obtain memberships and
fellowships of the institutes of Laboratory Science (or Technology)
allowing them to work in Pathology laboratories.
Virtually all of these folks had the ambition of being medical doctors but
could not meet the requirements.
In better countries than Nigeria, laboratories are headed by research
scientists (in research institutes) and by consultant pathologists (in
hospitals). Research scientists are typically Ph.D holders while
consultant pathologists are medical doctors with postgraduate
specializations in Pathology.
In Nigeria, they are quick to claim they do all the work in the
laboratories of government hospitals.
In their private practices, most masquerade as doctors, prescribing
antibiotics and other drugs after spurious "Typhoid" tests.
Having grown wings, they fired the first salvo by declaring their right to
perform accreditation for all labs in Nigeria including side-labs in private
hospitals.
The next issue was preventing resident doctors in training from
accessing the labs to carry out procedures (yet they claim they do all
the work).
It got to the point, doctors were physically harassed by laboratory
scientists and hounded by the Police and SSS on the instigation of these
technologists. Luckily, most security agencies quickly washed their hands
off this matter.
Interestingly, when JOHESU members (or their family) get ill, they never
go to their fellow JOHESU members for care or advice! They always look
privately for the same doctor they insult publicly. And the doctors still
treat them specially "as colleagues".
This JOHESU problem appears to be a problem of the teaching
hospitals. State-owned hospitals and private/institutional centres would
not condone this needless rabble-rousing and jostling for primacy.
Nigerians shouldn't permit persons without direct involvement in patient-
care add to the many problems already facing our healthcare system.
Nigeria is not the only country running a teaching hospital system. Let's
look at the successful models in other countries and make things work.
That way, all these unnecessary crises in our health system will end.
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