until i read this,i neva thought there really could be this dirty politics in wage particularly on issues that would benefit members of the same sectors!The Nigerian doctors tink increasing the pay of other health workers is nt in their interest!even after their pay has been jacked up and in the midst of this,where does the interest of nigerians lie?
read this and pls comment if this politics is in the interest of Nigerian health progress or politics?
Are the doctors truly selfish?
P.S:I was tinking of opening the thread in the health section,but most guys there are doctors and most responses would likely be biased(like asking you to mark your scripts)
MSS: Doctors are selfish, say pharmacists
By AZOMA CHIKWE
Tuesday, December 29, 2009

•Prof Osotimehin
Photo: Sun News Publishing
• More Stories on This Section

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has kicked against the alleged attitude of doctors in ensuring that they determine what other health workers can earn in the health sector.

Reacting to a statement by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), PSN Secretary-General, Pharm Gbenga Olubowale described as the height of professional recklessness and selfishness for doctors after getting the new medical salary scale (MSS) approved for them by the Federal government are busy monitoring negotiations of other health workers with government so as to determine what they can earn.

Pharm Olubowale noted that ever since the Medical Salary Scale (MSS) was imposed on the Public Sector in 1991 by late Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, the health sector has not known any peace.
According to him, “we at the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) make bold to equate the position of the Nigerian Medical Association as the pinnacle of its numerous absurdities. The disposition of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to negotiate wages for its members and proceed to dictate what others can earn is a grievously despicable act which has been encouraged by the Federal Government and its retinue of officials since 1991 when late Olikoye Ransome Kuti imposed the infamous Medical Salary Scale (MSS) on the Public sector in utter disregard of due process, as the Medical Salary Scale (MSS) proposal was tabled at a Federal Executive Council meeting without inputs of the Labour ministry at that time.

“Doctors had argued in the 90s that the major imperative for the Medical Salary Scale (MSS) was the prevalent economic hardship and the brain-drain syndrome in the health sector. The PSN believes that it is a matter of commonsense that the economically inclined problems affect all workers in Nigeria including those in the healthcare sector. The brain drain syndrome affects all cadres of healthcare workers in Nigeria today. In the profession of Pharmacy, less than 5,000 pharmacists practice out of about 13,000 practitioners who have registered at one time or the other to practice Pharmacy in Nigeria.

“The interesting feature about brain-drain in pharmacy practice is that we have both an internal and external dimension. While over 5,000 pharmacists have migrated abroad, another 3,000 have moved to more lucrative sectors like telecommunications, oil and gas and banking within our shores. For obvious reasons the broad spectrum orientation of Nigerian Pharmacists enables them to adapt to other terrains with ease because of versatile skills their training compels.

“It is strange and unimaginable in the antecedents of labour struggles for groups to negotiate what they want and still insist on being sole determinant of what other aggrieved colleagues/workers must earn. For too long stakeholders in health and government have allowed doctors to glamourise stupidity by giving the impression that healthcare begins and ends with the input and outputs of doctors. We find it necessary to remind the Federal Government that the politics of wages and salaries in organized labour has not attained equilibrium since 1991 when the Medical Salary Scale (MSS) was introduced by the Babangida government.
“The discriminatory wages for doctors in the 90’s triggered agitations for exclusive wages for University lecturers, teachers in public schools (TSS) and other group of workers.

Every responsible government must see beyond the philosophy of a superiority complex doctors continue to foster on others in health sector, because discriminatory wages will inevitably result in vicious cycle of industrial disharmony with the attendant negative health indices and indexes which confine us to being one of the worst 10 health systems in world ranking.
“Over time, we have continually witnessed a propensity by doctors and Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to mouth a process of dialogue and cooperation with Pharmacists and the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) its umbrella body. Ironically, the NMA agenda is always laden with an abundance of mischief and ignorance of prevailing world standards. Postulations and posturing in matters of health policy have also been characterized and based on imperfect logic founded on defective logic. We therefore call on the Federal government to re-focus to avoid a major catastrophe in the health sector in the months ahead as we shall insist on our rights as Nigerians who must enjoy equal status with fellow citizens.

“Maybe we should remind our medical doctor friends that a profession is identified by the willingness of practitioners to comply with ethical and professional standard which exceed minimum legal requirements.
“We are aware that medical ethics globally encourages the appreciation of the skills and experience of other health workers and the team concepts in healthcare delivery in so far as this contributes to the care of patients and we ask where indeed is medical ethics in Nigeria.

Continuing, he said, “the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) believes there must be reward for labour for all categories of workers in Nigeria. Government must be inclined on moral perpendicularity and forensic righteousness to make this attainable. The PSN reiterates very strongly that irrespective of the many unnecessary salary nomenclatures, government must embrace the recommendations of its own job evaluation report conducted on all health workers in Nigeria by the Federal Ministry of Health and office of the Head of Service of the Federation.

“That appraisal process took Federal Government officials too many states of the federation and the various teams discovered that over 97.5percent of those who visited doctors ended up in pharmacy departments for drug therapy which is still the prime solution in most clinical discourses. The job evaluation report prescribed a ratio 10:8.7 in the fixing of wages of doctors and pharmacists. We reluctantly accepted this because of the extra year doctors have to go through at the undergraduate level of training.

The PSN makes bold to declare that it will not accept anything other than the scientifically based indexes employed in the job evaluation report and we have in furtherance to this solidly posited to government. We submit that we do not thrive on ventilating invectives, but it pertinent to put on record that nothing that is morally wrong can be politically right. If Nigeria wishes to redefine values then we must not encourage the personality and professional cults which promote a cycle of redundancy in human capital development for self serving and egocentric reasons at the expense of national growth.

Doctors are really selfish. What pain me most is that they most at times do the work that is either of the nurse and most especially of the Pharmacist. God pass them. I'll meet them in the sector after graduation. Long live PSN!!!

Doctor are what they are because they see themselves as irreplacable and their work essential like that of petroleum staffs. The govt should employ doctor from other countries at least some of our doctor are abroad i think then they will realise they are not all in all. Doctors are the highest earners in public service yet the go on strike the highest number of times. Like lecturers because they know that patient and student will feel the pain do the crying and they will get their salary .

hahahhaaha...the wind has blown and the anus of the cock has been seen,doctors and their selfish interest..we are watching!!!

on a good day:
hahahhaaha...the wind has blown and the anus of the cock has been seen,doctors and their selfish interest..we are watching!!!

Stop the noise!
Doctors are the head of the Health sector, no question.

If you want their salary, simple: go and study to become a doctor

greatgilbert:

Stop the noise!
Doctors are the head of the Health sector, no question.

If you want their salary, simple: go and study to become a doctor

ah ah...who b dis one na...doctors are head of medical team!!! says who,who made doctors head of medical team? please educate me..is it the pharmacists,the scientists,the nurses,the physiotherapist..who? who ?who?....or is it self acclaimed,like abacha,ibb and the rest of dem taking leadership by force and claiming they are the head....wake up,this is democracy and i dont remember doctors being made head of medical team by others,so how can you lead somebody who does not want to be led by you...no be coup be dat?