BREAKING THE SILENCE, 2014 Breaking The Silence | Page 21

“When I do a
surgery, I do it
because I want
to help people,
but that is not
the only reason
why I do it...”
recently, and he said though in
school we are of the same class,
after then, you all become of
different class. I think students who
have the attitude for excellence
carry it with them when they
become doctors. People who just
want to pass end up being doctors
who just what to treat patients,
they are never thorough.
When I do a surgery, I do it because
I want to help people, but that is
not the only reason why I do it, also
because doing my job makes me feel
good, I am happy when I have just
carried out a complex surgery and
the patient is alive.
The attitude you have towards your
education now, is the attitude you
have when you become doctors,
you don't start developing it when
you become doctors.
Though now, you are all in the same
class, after school, you all become
of different class.
With the rapidly increasing brain
drain in the country, and the fact that
the Federal Government recently
abruptly suspended the Residency
program in the country only to
reinstate in a few weeks later, what is
your advice for undergraduate
medical students in Nigeria?
Brain drain? There would always be
that issue, I think as Medical
students you should have an open
mind, if you wish to practice here or
elsewhere, and you have the means,
you should.
About the residency program
suspension, I think that was a
wrong decision, I like to work with
people that have some knowledge
about the surgery, it would be more
complicated if I worked with people
who don't.
But, the world is changing, a lot of
our well trained doctors, are
returning to work here, and people
who have the opportunity are
moving to different parts of the
world. I think, you should have an
open mind.
What does the future hold for budding
medical practitioners in Nigeria?
Well, before, the neurosurgery unit
worked from 10am to 2pm during
the week and if somebody was to be
shot in the back on Friday night, he
would not get attended to till 10am
Monday morning, by that time he
would have been almost dead, or
dead. But now things have changed,
we are carrying out complex
procedures.
Also, the national health insurance
scheme if ever it gets done right
would make life exciting for doctors,
because they will have more money,
to be able to do more things, and
more facilities to express
themselves.
AMSUL Digest 2014