Doctors Should be respected as the Leader of the Health Sector-JOHESU Queen Lolo

POLITICAL PROFESSIONALISM; A MISPLACEMENT OF PASSION AND ABUSE OF PRECEDENCE
I remember in 2005 when I applied for an admission to study Medicine and was offered Biochemistry. I rejected it and applied again, this time I was given Chemistry, the “Bio” was removed, lolz. I was again offered Physiology/Pharmacology in almighty Unijos (great is the name), I reluctantly accepted it this time but told myself I’ll go back for medicine after graduation. Two years into this five years course, I fell in love with it. The difference is not much as it is a combination of medicine and pharmacy. The same lecturers for medical and pharmaceutical students gave me lectures, including practical. After graduation we were inducted (oat taking), sent on internship – just like medical doctors.
Note: we used same lecturers, lecture halls, same textbooks (Gython and Hall, Tripati, Ganon, Rang and Dale etc.), same laboratories etc. with medical students because we were doing almost same course. The fact is that we are health practitioners; the truth is that we are NOT medical doctors as there is nothing like “almost a medical doctor” you are either a medical doctor or u are not! After graduation, some of my class mates who suffered the same fate as me went back for medicine but I didn’t see any reason anymore to do so. They went back bcos they knew they are not medical doctors despite…….
I did a double honor course n I am happy today that even if I’m offered an admission with a salary to go and study medicine today, I will not go. It’s only “no do wells” that envy other people's profession.
I also remember few years ago when there was this “madness” for everyone to study nursing. Men and women went into the nursing profession because there was a high demand and pay for them in the U.S, Australia, and U.K etc. nobody talked about the doctors cos nurses were “popular demand”. My question is, can any JOHESU show me any of these nurses over there that is or was made CMD? There will always be an order of precedence. This is arrant nonsense, madness! No matter how a recruit thinks he knows how to write statement or handle cases more than a DPO, he can never head a division. JOHESU should stop this fight of jealousy, envy and professional encroachment! It doesn’t make sense to me or to any reasonable and just person.
What i see in the health profession now is what I call; Political Professionalism; office encroachment; Misplacement of Passion and Abuse of Precedence. People should learn to tell each other the truth. JOHESU needs to be told the truth. The leaderships are using your finances to better their lives and tell you they are fighting your course, which course? License you as doctors? That’s only when you can head a hospital. That’s just a misleading fact, the truth is that it’s not late for you to go back to school and become a doctor.
How on earth do people think, with their anus? How can a certified medical doctor take directives/instructions from a nurse, pharmacist, herbalist, mechanic, etc. all in the name of JOHESU? What would you do in that post? This is simply envy and jealousy but out of place cos I remember, in my 200level we were almost 90 in number but in 300level we were a little more than 70. In graduation, less than 50 made it. Many voluntarily withdrew cos to them the work load was too much for just one certificate, others were asked to withdraw cos they seem not to belong there with what they were putting in.
By tomorrow, even babalawos and witch doctor, people u studied physical n health in education will want head hospitals; after all they’re even doctors by profession, lolz. The gap is so much that doctors can do without JOHESU but I bet you, you can’t do medicals without doctors, let’s be frank. Isn’t it obvious that while doctors are on strike people lament and beg doctors to come back, are you not there JOHESU? I think that tells you where you belong. If JOHESU is as good as NMA why will patients cry the absence of doctors from hospitals?
Today people are dying in the hospitals just because one man has refused to stay in his place. I know JOHESU thinks they “know the job better than doctors” that’s a fact. The truth is, no matter how big a butterfly grows, it can never be a bird “let every man stay in the profession wherein he is called and be the best there, to avoid noise making” why won’t nurses make auxiliary or nurses from nursing schools Chief Matrons? After all they are more practical than the B.Sc nurses!
Let’s respect each other’s office. We need each other but the order of precedence must be observed and respected. If u still think what a doctor can do, JOHESU can do better, I tell you, you are only being sentimental not rational.
And if you still want to head a hospital, that won’t be a problem but pls, go back to school. But if you think that’s too much at this stage, pls go and hug a transformer. ‪#‎sosayslolo‬#

The Hippocratic oath is not a pledge to eternal slavery. Dr Dagba Maxwell

Who would serve under any condition? Members of the NMA will not be subjected to insulting or untoward conditions of service on account of a distorted view of the Hippocratic oath. Should they work with an employer who refuses to honour agreements? Function in an environment consumed by hostility and unnecessary rivalry? Allow those who have not taken any oaths to create a neo-environment in Nigeria where there is no disparity in the wages of workers, irrespective of training and qualifications? Attempt to 'save lives' in a milieu where multiple 'consultants' of all sorts effect contradictory lines of management on a single human for the same disease condition? To whose benefit? 

The Hippocratic oath is not a pledge to eternal slavery. And if we swore before God to do anything for our patients, we did not also swear to do anything for our employers. Or to accept disrespect from other health professionals and the allied health professions. Saving lives in Nigeria is not only done in the emergency rooms, theatres, clinics and wards of government institutions. As we speak, Nigerian doctors are still saving lives - just not in that environment of madness. They are at work in some Mission Hospitals and Private Hospitals. Are they treating Germans or Vietnamese there? Surely, they are saving Nigerians like you and me.

So the NMA still stands on her words. No amount of cheap blackmail, 'emotional appeals' on the pages of newspapers, or empty government circulars will reverse this resolve. 

I will now propose a permanent solution. Let us put the strike aside for a moment. Whether before or after the NMA strike, the government needs to invite the NMA and her affiliates along with JOHESU and its constituent unions to a round table. This conference, as I will refer to it, should be broadcast live on all major TV and radio stations in the country. Government should also invite experts from at least two countries in each of the six continents of the world to that conference. These experts should include health ministry officials in those countries, as well as Medical Consultants and Specialists (Consultants or otherwise) in other health professions - Pharmacy, Nursing and Medical Laboratory Science. Also present should be representatives of the media, the senate, the house of representatives, the salaries an wages commission, the Ministry of Health, the presidency and representatives of the state governors. These experts should educate Nigerians on the way health systems are run in those countries. Pertinent questions to be asked at that conference will include the following: Who heads a hospital? What is the role of the Surgeon-General in those Countries, if they have? Is there not a Surgeon-General apart from a Health Minister? Who has the ultimate responsibility for patient care? What are the exact roles of non-doctor consultants in a health sector? Do these other 'consultants' have the right to interfere with the management plan of the doctor? is there a difference in wages between health professionals? what is the magnitude of the difference, if any? It will also help if someone from the Civil Service Commission gives a talk on structure of the federal civil service and promotions (especially to Director cadre).

Many other questions should be proposed by the unions, other stakeholders and Nigerians as a whole. 

When we have answered all these questions and the veil of ignorance has been lifted from the faces of all, the government should then sit down and use its brains to come up with a reasonable health sector policy framework which will capture job descriptions, remuneration, and appointment to offices. Needless to say that this framework should be in line with international practices as exposed during the conference. This can then be subjected to scrutiny by the national assembly and given legal backing. From then on, any further arguments about wages, appointments or job description should refer to the said document. Any deviants should be treated as offenders of the law.

Call this the Dagba solution. But without this approach or something similar, I see the hundredth generation after us still embroiled in continuous fracas over these same issues.

God save us

Everybody wants to be a a "Consultant" in the health sector - Dr Eleazu Franklin

When an individual is ill, he needs another person trained in making sure he gets well. The physician ( neurologist, gastroenterologist,cardiologist,nephrologist, general practitioner, psychiatrist etc) or the surgeon ( neurosurgeon, orthopaedic surgeon,urologist, obs & gynae, ophthalmologist general surgeon etc) makes sure he's alright. These set of doctors might invite other doctors ie pathologist, radiologist etc if he needs to make diagnosis with samples or images. The doctor might need drugs, this is where the pharmacist comes in, akin to when an engineer wants to use a particular material, say wood or metal, he involves a carpenter or metal constructionist/welder/metallurgist respectively.
The doctor might decide to be more intense with the care,he outlines his plan on how to take care of the sick individual, and invites the angels in white who will nurse the sick one back to health, with all love and care, according to the doctors scientific evidence based practice, this nursing of the sick happens to be the nurses scope of work, job description, and not slavery cos its a choice n they opted for the job. They're also bound to abide by the drs plan cos if anything comes up, the doctor is held responsible (Tho the nurse now has abandoned this traditional role as in their statutory books,curriculum and training, saying its old school).
The doctor may also involve others, like the physiotherapist, optometrist etc. 
They feel the responsibility on the dr is too much, forgetting the doctor is as much as the physical and psychological problems of an individual.
For the pathologist, he involved people "in the hospital" (who now claim to be equal or bigger than him), who do the reagent mixing, microscope viewing, etc while he analyses and makes the diagnosis for the referring physician/surgeon. All these job specifications r spelt out and verifiable.
Mind you, these guys have their own establishments, and as long as getting well/remaining well is in view, the field belongs to the doctor and the hospital is where he works.
Why don't they go and develop their areas and not try this mutiny in the doctors territory. 
I cannot say cos I run the clinic in an engineering firm, I should be made CEO, no matter how experienced or competent I think I am. Let's be frank to ourselves.

Some people are so heartbroken... Nemenma Echendu wrote:

Some people are so heartbroken... Nemenma Echendu wrote:

"Ndukwe, so u r one of d mediocres that think doctors should only be seen, not heard? I feel sorry 4 u, I wonder if there is any cerebral activity going on in dat head of urs, now dis is y we r fighting! Doctors in d past where treated wt respect, nd dignity and as we kp on struggling everyday 2 read our books and upgrade ourselves academically(doctors keep reading and still subjected 2 mind breaking, terribly stressful exams, just 2 make sure, u Ndukwe get all d benefits of coming 2 d hosp, @ least d part in our hands, and u want us 2 kp quiet and watch some mediocres, who most tyms in d hospitals frustrate pt care, strip us our dignity, and all u can say 2 us is, mehn, shut up, go carry ur books and read, let me shock u, we did not go 2 schl, so as to carry our bks and read, we went 2 schl, and continue schooling 4 ur sakes, and if u cannot appreciate dat, its rather unfortunate, because, u and ur cohorts are d canckerworm and caterpillars eating deep into d value system and d principles, our teachers upheld and passed down 2 us. dat is what we r fightn 4, we must fight 2 maintain d Sanctity of Medicine, which our Fathers had in dere days and decided 2 pen down d Hippocratic Oath. but since u all think we r irrelevant noisemakers, we hav decided 2 lay down our stethoscopes and leave d platform 4 dose dat think dey r better qualified, nd just lyk Jesus said, Jerusalem, u murder ur prophets and kill dose sent to u, never again will u see me till u say blessed is He dat comes in d name of d Lord!" we r nt going bk 2 wrk until u Ndukwe and ur lyks realise, u hv killed ur prophets and murdered dose sent 2 u. "for if d foundations be Shaken, what can d righteous do", no wonder David cried out in d Psalms "oh Lord, do not let d sceptre of d Wicked remain over d Land allotted 2 d righteous, for then they may use dere hands 2 do evil"!, its a fight 2 finish doctors! let us win back our birthright. dey collected d food we were carrying in our hands, we did nothing, we were abt 2 drink our water, bt dey hit it away 4rm our hands, still we kept quiet, nw dey want 2 collect d one dat we r chewing in our mouths, and because we say NOO!, dey say we r monsters, ok, let dem continue, bt I know Diaaaarrrrisss GOD!"

JUST SO THAT WE'RE CLEAR ON THIS ISSUE

Every profession has it strata. These stratitifications aяє designated ῳːτϞ certain ranking titles to distinguish members and their roles. 

ΨϞατ do I mean by thϊs? In the Military for instance, there aяє Lieutenants, Captains, Major, Colonels and Generals. The Police have Corporals, Sergeants, Superintendents, Commissioners, Inspector General. The Civil Defence uses Cadets...up to Commandants. (Don't get bored by these names: a little more knowledge outside your field of study doesn't hurt!)

•In Nursing, there aяє τϞє Nursing Officer 2 (NO-2), NO-1, SNO, CNO (aka Matrons) and PNO for Senior, Chief and Principal Nursing Officers.
•The Medical Doctors have τϞє House Officers, τϞє Medical Officers, Registrars, Senior Registrars and Consultants.
•The MedLab Scientist have their ranks. So does the Radiographers and the Pharmacists. Doctors don't ever want to share τϞє post of "Principal" as much as τϞє Pharmacist wouldn't bear "Matrons".

For the avoidance of doubt, these titles aяє all English words, not Swahili and anyone can undastand ΨϞατ a "Principal" means...but Ψє all choose these different words to identify our member of staff.

All these aяє titles that applies to different professions and serves to distinguish one member of a certain rank from another, to prevent ambiguity and distinguish one member of a certain profession from another. Now, ΨϞατs my point in thϊs?

It makes sense that if an Inspector is mentioned, ones mind tilts toward de police. ΤϞє word General will denote a Military personnel... so also, if a person asks for a CNO or Matron as they aяє usually called, it'll be quickly undastood τhατ it's a Nurse required. Similarly, if a person asks for a Consultant, it's delineated to mean τhατ a Medical Doctor is needed.

Why in God's name does every other hospital staff feel τhατ if τϞєy don't share thϊs Medical Doctors ranking title of Consultant, τϞєy'll not rest...and yet no one else seem to see thϊs troublesome tendencies in these guys or realize τhατ these aяє τϞє real people fermenting trouble in τϞє health sector. 

They heat up τϞє hospital ῳːτϞ unruly demands, lock up items, even Oxygen. Shut down τϞє Labs and make patients suffer in a bid to make us react. And when Ψє say "Enough is enough" τϞє public labels us τϞє "Evil one", just like τϞє bad housewife who quietly torments her husband by serving him bad meals, witholding sex and persistently nagging; she bothers τϞє husband to a point where he raises his hand on her and τϞє whole world sees him as a monster and a bully. 

The training aяє all different, the pay scale is different, so is τϞє job description and rank titles. Much more astonishing is τϞє fact τhατ no one stops to ask them why they want to make Consultant out of Nurses, Pharmacists, MedLab Scientists, Radiographer, HealthRecord Staff and Cleaners?

ΨϞy create all thϊs mix-up...Is it so as τo decieve τϞє unsuspecting public (who often refer to everyone working in τϞє Hospital as doctor) or even deceive yourselves τhατ there's no difference btw you and τϞє Medical Doctor?...(my dear, there is and will always continue to be a difference). Ψє believe this would promote mediocrity - as people will no longer see τϞє need for hard to be Doctors if they can bear Consultants in τϞє same hospitals ῳːτϞ Doctors and earn similar pay...even after dropping out of Medicine program.

Here lies τϞє problem, this issue won't just begin and end ῳːτϞ sharing of τϞє title of Consultant...Ψє think τhατ thϊs is a careful plan to "porous" τϞє Medical profession, usurp τϞє Doctors position and benefits ῳːτϞout recourse to sacrifice, hardwork and excellence in service!

Just as τϞєre can never be Colonels and Generals in the Police and Civil Defence, there ʂhσʊl∂ never be Consultant Cleaners or Nurses in τϞє Hospital...even if a half-baked judge rules in their favor!

...I seriously don't mind if nobody comments on this article. I'ḿ grateful yσυ took τϞє time to read it anyway. Pls feel free to delete it from your Wall after reading. Don't ask ʍε to un-tag yσυ.