NUC Approves Seven Year, Four Year MBBS/BDS Program in New Minimum Academic Standards
Posted: 04/Nov/2015

Following several stakeholders meetings in the last two years and as a prelude to the formal release of the New Minimum Academic benchmark (2015), the National universities Commission has approved relevant adjustments relating to Medical/ Dental schools.

Jude Chiedu of Medicalworldnigeria.com reports that a major change to essential components of the new curriculum expected to be in use from the 2016/2017 academic session is the approval of three alternative models viz;

i. A seven year MBBS/BDS programme that encompass a mandatory seamless four-year acquisition of the B.Sc. (Basic Medical Science) with interest in either Anatomy/Physiology/Biochemistry. At the end of seven years, students would have acquired the Bachelor of Basic Medical Science, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees. In case of the dental programmes, the students would have acquired a degree in Basic Dental Science and Bachelor of Dental Surgery.

ii. In order to allow for career change for interested non-medical health professionals, the Commission has also approved a four year programme leading to MBBS/BDS for interested and qualified graduates of Nursing, Pharmacology, Physiotherapy, Image Science, Paramedics, Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology. It must be noted for such to be considered for admission they must have at the WAEC/NECO levels minimum credit scores in Mathematics, English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology at one sitting, prior to the admissions for their first degrees. They must also have a good CGPA.

iii. Admission into universities based on the current six year programme would be allowed to continue as suitable alternative based on the discretion of the University.

It should be noted and emphasized that all the above degrees have the Bachelor appellation as they remain undergraduate programmes.

For Specific periods of posting to the department of Family Medicine. The obvious implication here is that, the Universities should create the Department of Family Medicine following their due process.

The department of pharmacology would be redsignated to the department of pharmacology and therapeutics and is now expected to provide relevant basic clinical teaching and conduct relevant professional examination in Pharmacology. They will also be expected to provide relevant clinical teaching in Therapeutics.

According to the NUC, proprietors of medical and dental schools in Nigeria (both current and prospective) are requested to note the following implementing steps including relevant adjustments relating to accreditation of Medical /dental schools

From 1st September 2015, both current and prospective proprietors of Medical and Dental Schools should:
a. Write a letter to the Executive Secretary stating their intent and provide relevant information as available.
b. On receipt, (if NUC has no obvious reasons to disqualify the application), they would be sent a copy of the BMAS for MBBS/BDS and advised firmly to ensure that they are strictly complied with.
c. The setting up of medical schools is not an emergency exercise. To this end, prospective proprietors must own and have in place (prior to a request for a Resource Verification), a fully functional and well run tertiary type hospital.

In the circumstance of the above not being in place, consideration for an affiliation with a tertiary government owned institution may be given only when the said university owns a medical institution fully functional with a minimum of 150 beds and a rural health medical unit. (See Appendix 4 of the BMAS).

d. APre-clinical Accreditation would be expected to take place within two years of a positive Resource Verification.

Students can only sit for the second MBBS professional examination (Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry) when they have a successful preclinical accreditation.



Source:
http://www.medicalworldnigeria.com/2015/11/nuc-approves-four-year-career-change-mbbs-program-for-non-medical-health-professionals