If you go wallahi don't expect me to send you money from time to time s'ogbo?
It's a great idea though. I plan on settling down in Nigeria after some years.

LOL!!

Ask you for money? joke!

Yes, I'll settle down in my old age, and enjoy my money!!

After my kids are all done with college.

Little or no hope for us outside

it is a good idea to help serve your country but you must be fully prepared to be loaded financially to be able to survive. I have an uncle who is a medical doctor and tried it guy it wasn't funny for him he is back here again saying many wahala many people will come to you to treat them with sympathy. On the other hand the overseer of my church too lived here in America for decade and travel back to Nigeria with white people and set up hospital with a high standard now it is rated as the best hospital in east. The court is in your ball. Decide wisely.

Cheesy Yes, i hope to return back home ASAP

The truth is, a lot of people who see only the ills in Naija are just waiting for good things to start happening and they will be on the next virgin Naija flight back home. There's always no place like home.

Right now things are not @ its best but with all the potentials in Nigeria, all i see a giant about to be reborn.

I'll prefer to be a part of that change (even if its a small one) than watch good things happen from far, and then start to rejoice and celebrate with the true winners.


God bless u my dear
Ive always prayed to God for ppl like u in this great country, ppl who believe in the future of the nation who see only the good in the land, how to harness it and make life better.
Keep it up, together we will get there.
We will live to see the Nig we have been dreaming of having.
We will stand proudly and say we made Nig. the way it is now.
No matter how little we contribute, we could as least we believed

Living abroad is nice but you may get bad treatments from people that don't like you just for being you. Living in Africa feels like home but the environment and safety is not good in most places. So, there are good and bad. The choice is up to you. Let no one make that choice for you.

There is no place like home, some docs are making it real big here, but really, u have to set up your own firm, If there is no money yet to set up your own clinic or hosp, then stay put where u are now and make plenty of money before coming back hom

Those advicing the poster to stay put ,have you ever asked the poster what his/her statue is where ever he/she is.
Don't you think they have unemployed Doctors in UK. check out this http://www.unemployeddoctor.co.uk/
I have seen many qualified nurses stacking shelves in ASDA and TESCO.
Its obvious that things are not working ok back home but then we should not discourage people that want to contribute.
Poster just decide on what to do, with oversea cert you will get a good job in a good hospital.

ZIGA thanks for answering MACHU'S question, to others this will definately get to some people but please accept my apology, he asked a question, if can't provide answer,why not say you dont know and your persuading and desuading comment follows.i dont know if im making any sense? cheers

Machu 1
The health sector in Nigeria may be worse than what it used to be before you left. However it will take the likes of yourself and your colleagues out there to come back home and join hands in making things better. Nigeria belongs to all of us.

presido1:

Those advicing the poster to stay put ,have you ever asked the poster what his/her statue is where ever he/she is.
Don't you think they have unemployed Doctors in UK. check out this http://www.unemployeddoctor.co.uk/
I have seen many qualified nurses stacking shelves in ASDA and TESCO.
Its obvious that things are not working ok back home but then we should not discourage people that want to contribute.
Poster just decide on what to do, with oversea cert you will get a good job in a good hospital.

spot on!!

Why would you want to study medicine in the US with all the expenses and choose to work in Nigeria?

except you went to medical school in ethiopia or sudan!
believe me even if you schooled in ghana,its not likely you want go back to nija.
Anyways if you have a lotta money,look for friends with like minds and set up something good that will be of good standard,thats the ultimate for most of us.
But one wonders though.what you set up will most likely be for the elite who can pay for it,what happens to all the indigent people who we should really help?therein lies the dilema of wanting to help.

a wizzy:

ZIGA thanks for answering MACHU'S question, to others this will definately get to some people but please accept my apology, he asked a question, if can't provide answer,why not say you don't know and your persuading and desuading comment follows.i don't know if im making any sense? cheers

you are certainly not making any

semid4lyfe:

Jeez!I hate 2 think there are these many UNPATRIOTIC Nigerians.Moreover d poster asked about d processes and conditions a foreign trained doctor must undergo and fulfill before been allowed 2 practice in Naija.
I'm afraid only ziga & awizzy hit d mark with their replies.The other replies were OP.Abeg if una no know wetin to yarn, waka pass & stop trying to run Naija down.

its not about running Nigeria down but about reality.
Money - the average US doctor will earn at least well over $100,000 pa, the Nigerian doctor will be lucky to recieve $3,000 pa.
Facilities - Being a surgeon in Nigeria is no better than being a nurse in the US.
NEPA - Need i say more?

That will be the best thing you ever did in your life,to go back to nigeria as a professional life saver,people need you,you got to make some sacrifices,uplift people's life and live a fulfilled life.It is not all about money and comfort,but about building,about initiating and about setting precedence.

Any constructive initiative in nigeria today,will be pioneer for future development. People make things happen,we live in a world as if it is past or future,meanwhile it is now,yet we can't face it.Education is main to empower you,be it in a hole,you still have to survive,survival is instinctive,you don't have a choice,you got to work it out.

@ Poster,

Your intentions are good but it takes much more than that. Can you provide the desired service if you are struggling to survive (bad roads, poor power supply, armed robbers, etc.). You should come back if you are setting up a practice that will cater for a section of the society that can pay for it otherwise you will pack up before completing the establishment of your practice.

We have good doctors in Nigeria but we don't have the environment that can enable them perform as trained. Doctors are life savers but what life can they save if they are living under stress?
I am not a doctor but don't find it funny that I have to be chasing petrol or diesel when I should be home resting after two weeks of rigorous offshore work. I run 3 generators in my house, supply my own water (there is even no pipe laid by govt for water supply), I maintain the long stretch of road to my house (the road is tarred in government records), I keep dogs at home and rely on God, insurance and vehicle tracking system when I drive out!

You can't come back now, not this year or next except if miracle happens with the Yaradua's govt. Watch situations every now and then and I am sure you will know when to come.

All the best.

Davidylan,u still don't get d point, do u?d poster asked a specific question.if u can't provide d answer(s) he requires,I repeat make una WAKA PASS.All these disparaging comments about Nigeria are unnecessary and totally uncalled 4.As 4 reality,which reality u dey talk about.U dey yankee dey talk about reality 4 Naija?D reality is that many returnees are making it big time in Naija, and it was just convenient of you to pick on d last line of my reply and ignore d rest.Please refer back to the poster's posting so that u can read and UNDERSTAND it.
One more thing,don't forget d poster's status as a foreign trained doctor so holding down a good job in a good specialist hospital in Naija shouldn't be a problem 4 him.

There are good hospitals in Nigeria, during the last nations cup when a player had a head injury; they had to fly him from Ghana to Nigeria because there was no equipment in the whole of Ghana that could adequately scan the head to help in diagnosis. Even BBC reported it so I don't know why some of you here are just running your mouth. Reddington specialist hospital and 2 or 3 other private places are very good though expensive and majority of them are located in Lagos.

@poster
just like any other career,you have to look for a private practise but definitely there in nigeria if thats what you have in mind,there are many private hospitals who pay good money and will certainly be impressed with a foreign degree,as for people discouraging you i think this is precisely why nigeria is where it is presently,we know the government have failed us and instead of encouraging diasporeans who want to return back home they are negative news left and right,im sure you know how india was and how sheer doggedness and patriotism from the medical profession has turned it into a country where heart bypass and the rest are performed routinely, pls go back to nigeria if you want to ,its good to go and spend a couple of months and look around for likely places,shoot out your cvs

Brain drain is another form of slavery,waste materials.

=

Manchu my guy, The answer to your question about how to go about practising i n Naija has been answered.
However, make I advice you my brother.
I work in the UK now after working in Naija for a few years after graduation.
You need to ask yourself your reasons for going home.
Residency pays you a wage you can live on but just enough if you have no commitments so can you be happy living just above the poverty line?
Do you have a godfather to help you into residency?
Do you have the requisite mentality to work without any support and depend only on your clinical acumen and no access to basic investigations not to mention CT or MRI?
Its like a tightrope walk without a safety net.
I think you should visit Naija hospitals and see if you can cope.
You make up your own mind after seeing what is on ground
The force be with you
If it's immigration issues, then I guess you have no choice

Now why would you want to do that?

the main reason why you went to medical school is to use your knowledge to better the society AND YOURSELF to the best of your ability, you don't really want to work in an environment where you won't be able to give your all due to this or that- usually very trivial mundane issues

you'll see many people saying after their education they are going back immediately, its a lie except they are on scholarship or some sort of employment already, even on here-nairaland!! I see people changing stories about doing a further degree or taking advantage of the two year work experience, some even pull their partners along!!

Make sure you work get experience and save loads of money, its good to go back but not with a certificate alone!!!

Echeozo:

@ poster,

I don't mean to go over what others have said but the fact remains the fact.Nigeria is our country but how much love has Nigeria for us.
Two weeks ago I lost a friend who left for Nigeria from the States to set up a business.His own relations poisoned him.
If it's not relations,it's armed robbers,the government etc.
The issue is not about going back home but the society,the innate decay,the unwanted progress. Don't get me wrong,I love nigeria but of what good is nigeria to me dead.We'll all die but nobody would want an earlier date.
@ poster get a practice wherever you are;you could always visit Nigeria.

this is what I don't understand about all the badmouthers.

Someone's own relatives poisoned him, the next thing you'll hear is oh its Nigeria that poisoned him.

Why can't people assign blame to the exact source, instead of just generalising all over the place. If there's so much bad blood in someone's family that they're all poisoning each other, what's the connection between what that family is doing to each other and Nigeria as a whole? Is it a person called Nigeria telling them to kill each other? And is there no way of achieving peace in such a family/village/region, but its just easier to place all blame on Nigeria in general?


@ Davidylan: this is the kind of talk which gives people the impression the streets overseas are paved with gold. A Nigerian doctor I know has been practicing in the US for close to 20 years- he's not a millionaire, and in addition, is always in fear of being sued.

Doctors in the US have it very hard during residency- they're paid almost a starving wage, and the so-called 100,000 which they're rumored to make after training, comes with a lot of sweat and insurance premiums. Not to mention US trained doctors often graduate with a mountain of debt from anywhere like 150,000 and upwards, if they're lucky. By the time you pay off your debt, add your monthly bills, etc etc, you'll be surprised at what remains. You might still find yourself with little ready cash, and an avalanche of credit card debt. if you have kids, and want them to go to a good private school, not to mention college, thats another story altogether.

After all the sweat, you make a "good" living, what would be considered middle class or lower. And assuming you're the type who must always show off and compete with the Joneses, then 100,000 is small change compared to your potential debt.   That's why many people resort to illegal activities to make money. because they live above their means.



The OP's best bet is to get certified in Nigeria (since he wants to go home), then look for either private or public service jobs. If he wants to specialize, he can also do that by going for his residency in Nigeria.Things may be hard at first, but with time you learn how to work the system. You just need to get your foot in the door. Many doctors have to work two or more jobs in Nigeria, in order to pay the bills. Locum, etc. Same in most other parts of the world,.

The other option is to attempt the foreign medical boards exams while at home, and if he passes all the steps, try to get a residency overseas. However, as someone pointed out earlier, its also getting harder and harder these days, because employers abroad are getting some pressure about the number of overseas graduates they hire. But never say never.

and this may interest d poster

Doctors abandon hospitals, take up jobs in telecoms, banks
Muda Oyeniran, Lagos - 14.07.2008

THE brain drain currently plaguing the nation’s health sector may soon worsen as doctors now prefer to take up juicy appointments in the telecommunications and banking sectors of the economy.


Investigation conducted by the Nigerian Tribune has revealed that at least three out of every five graduates of Medicine and Surgery now eye jobs in telecoms companies and banks.


Further investigation showed that those who do not go for jobs in telecoms companies and banks now prefer to set up health-related non-governmental Organisations through which they could earn hard currencies from foreign bodies.


According to Dr Kunle Obagaye, a Senior Registrar and immediate past President, Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, the action of the doctors was not unconnected with the poor pay package and condition of service of doctors in the country.


“Some of them have seen many senior doctors and consultants wallowing in poverty and they are just being proactive by going for a less stressful but more financially rewarding career,” he added.


When asked to comment on the issue, the Provost, College of Medicine, Lagos State University, Professor Oladapo Obafunwa, said he was not interested in commenting on it.


“I am not inclined to comment on the issue. Thank you,” he told the Nigerian Tribune.


However, a top official of a new generation bank confirmed to the Nigerian Tribune that the company had many doctors and pharmacists-turned bankers on their payroll, adding that they were doing well on the job

machu 1:
Please is there anyone that finished general medicine abroad and is back to Nigeria to work? What's the whole process like??

Thanks

@ poster,

I apologize that my former post didn't answer your question; Don't know the process for foreign medical graduates licensing for practice in Nigeria. You can get the details from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (google to check if they are on the web).

All the best.

is nairaland supposed t be a forun where fellow nigerians advise thier countrymen to disown thier land and absorb the whtieman's culture.
when will be start building this country if we all decide to use our talents and develop some1 else's.
for una info, its the citizens of these so called developed countries that stayed put and made them what they r today.
if u cant build ur home, then u dont deserve to live in a well built one.

izeek:

is nairaland supposed t be a forun where fellow nigerians advise their countrymen to disown their land and absorb the whtieman's culture.
when will be start building this country if we all decide to use our talents and develop someone else's.
for una info, its the citizens of these so called developed countries that stayed put and made them what they r today.
if u can't build your home, then u don't deserve to live in a well built one.

Globalization has changed everything now, my friend. Skills and investments goes only where there are opportunities; it is the same reason we all left the villages for the cities.

You don't have to build, my friend; you can buy or rent as long as you can pay the price!

I live here, proudly naija but no longer believe in this primitive mentality of sit down in one place and build.

@poster,
the bottom line is:if you are just interested in attending to patients and telling them sorry for common ailments which you know that it could it could be handled easily out there,then you can come home.But if you want a medical practice that you will be fulfilled knowing that you are well equipped to see to your patients needs,then stay where u are.IT is not all about money but job satisfaction.I can assure u that u will never be satisfied especially after being exposed to technology.The other day i was suturing a young girl who was involved in a road traffic and the hospital generator went off.Did i tell u there has been no NEPA light for over 2 months in this part of the country?we lost the patient and i hav not been able to get over it.Things just dont work here.its depressing!!!

Hello