[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hy would a nurse be appointed a surgeon general of the United States? How could one replace an “almighty” medical doctor with a “common” nurse, is President Donald Trump thinking right?”
President Trump and his handlers must be cautioned by the American Medical Association (AMA); they should call on their Nigerian counterpart for help, because the Nigerian Medical Association believes it is “against” International best practices. Trump should recall that NMA refers to other medical professionals as gatemen, while only their members are owners of the house.
The Nigerian Medical Association just intervened in a similar scenario where a medical laboratory scientist who has been promoted to the position of director medical laboratory services was reversed on the directive of NMA at the Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, NMA believes other health professionals should be headed by them.
This cannot and must not be allowed to happen in Nigeria, every Medical position must be held and occupied by a “medically qualified” and certified personnel “specifically” a member of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
The Ministry of Health or rather the “ministry of doctors”, where other practitioners are regarded as support staffers who are not qualified to even head their departments, and must be made to work under the supervision of a medical doctor is indeed the international standard, no wonder our health care services rank top from below.
The youngest physician in any health facility in Nigeria is “superior” to the most senior nursing officer, this is equally applicable to pharmacists, radiologists, physiotherapists even if the officer is a doctorate degree holder.
A nurse as surgeon general? If this were to happen in Nigeria, NMA would have called for an indefinite industrial action till the nurse is removed from office and a medical doctor made to replace the Nursing
Officer.
The American medicare, unlike our own, follows due process and professionalism. All medical professionals are equal. America is not like Animal Farm where all medical professionals are equal, but some are more equal than others
In summary, the pain and tears of the Nigerian patients should continue, the declined health standards should continue and the medical tourism should not stop so long as the ego of the NMA is being massaged by government.
Toroko Amos is a social media commentator. Connect with him on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
