jpphilips: It has been a week since the Nigerian doctors down tools, and ever since, health care delivery in Nigeria have not remained the same.
Before I decided to open this thread, I wanted to holistically fix culpability where it belongs, from the "for" and "against" threads here, I got hold of the following demands by the doctors. I am not in anyway undermining the other demands of the Doctors, but for the purpose of emphasis I wish to dissect the demands that will directly or indirectly affect the patients.
While I implore the Doctors to quickly resolve their differences in the interest of the patients, there are some demands I consider legitimate and should not be compromised under any guise. The reason I hold tenaciously to this opinion is the fact that those demands if not met, will likely put the lives of the patients in grave danger. these demands are as follows;
I was meant to understand that JOHESU is at the fore front of demanding for the position of "consultant" in their various fields. As a patient who care less about medical politics and bureaucracy, I was meant to understand that the Doctor consultant actually owns the patient, by "owning" I mean calls the final shot on the treatment regime of a patient.
The big question is; what qualifies a consultant doctor (not any charge and bail doctor) to own a patient?
Research has proven that the Consultant doctor is one who has a general knowledge of every aspect of medicine who later specializes in a single aspect. That gives him the academic superiority to claim responsibility on the welfare of a patient, then I ask; what is wrong with that?
who else in the Hospital is a contender, JOHESU is demanding that the Lab scientist can become a consultant, then in my Medical naive I asked on what grounds?
Till date (probably the outcome of this thread will give me a convincing answer) I am yet to hear any logical reason as to why that needs to happen.
the first question I asked was, will the consultant Lab scientist own the patient? If the Answer is "YES" then why will I entrust the last call on my treatment in the hands of a lab scientist who knows nothing about my pulmonary disease which requires a surgery he cannot perform?
If the answer is "NO" then why do we need that "half baked consultant" that cannot own a patient? Further more, I was meant to understand that the consultant position is highly respected and it comes with benefits and perks (economic motivation), could it be that JOHESU is targeting these benefits? let us find out.
From the above conversation, you can easily deduce that the whole strike is just petty politics and unmerited power tussle, my own annoyance is that people who want to live and earn like consultants refuse to broaden their curriculum to acquire more knowledge but they want to enjoy like people who have accomplished theirs.
If a theater nurse who have spent countless years in a Theater with a surgeon will not go on strike for the Govt to extend her curriculum to cover other areas of health care delivery, why will she be interested in being a consultant?
The second argument is that it is obtainable outside Nigeria (of course, countries not plagued by nepotism and corruption like ours), this is the most ridiculous because every country has the reserve to make laws that suit their environment, juxtaposing foreign health care delivery with Nigeria's is laughable.
Let us quickly look at the following facts to dissect the actual medical practice we need to import from abroad;
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) - have initiated countless cases against nurses in the United States, between 1998 and 2001, they have initiated well over 413 cases of malpractice,http://www.nursingcenter.com/lnc/journalarticle?article_id=423284
Fellow Nigerians, I am still waiting for the day JOHESU will go on strike to demand for a law or act that will empower it to prosecute its members for "Negligence" as it is obtainable elsewhere viz a viz "International best practices" or are we saying that Nigerians don't loose their lives in the care of JOHESU members? JOHESU in their infinite wisdom is demanding for the big title "consultant" but uninterested in taking responsibility for the welfare of the patient, neither are they interested in a broad curriculum for effective health care delivery that will benefit the patient in the long run, all they are interested is "GIVE THEE THY TITLE OH! GOVT, FOR WE SHALL CHOP LIKE THE DOCTORS AT ALL COST" it is a shame, nothing in it for the patients.
Since JOHESU is kind enough to borrow "international best practices" let us look further;
In the United states, nurses are entitled to great tax benefits, reimbursements for academic career advances/school loans-sign on and relocation bonuses for less work!
The bold part is an incentive that will motivate a nurse to improve academically for a better health care delivery, I am yet to hear that JOHESU wants to strike for the inability of the Govt. to provide such academic soft landing.
At this verge I am forced to conclude that JOHESU is not interested in anything that will advance their members academically but that big name that will guarantee more money in their pockets. it is a shame.
As much as I am of the opinion that the controversial arrears should be negotiated in the interest of patients with terminal illness, however ,NMA "MUST" not compromise on Relativity.
Relativity I was meant to understand is the parity in earning between doctors and other health care providers.
Nature follows the path of least resistance, the reason people still study hard to aspire to go through the rigors of medical school is because of the perks that comes with being a doctor, those privileges "MUST" never be compromised.
Any attempt to harmonize their benefit will not only enthrone incompetence in health care delivery but will make medicine unattractive.
why will i go through medical school when I will enjoy same benefit with a doctor as a parasitologist?
We lost most of our best Doctors to Saudi Arabia in the 80's in related circumstance.
On what grounds should an air hostess earn the same as the Pilot? just because she feels she serves coffee to the passengers? what kind of logic are we throwing around in Nigeria? If an air hostess want the same perks and privilege as a Pilot, by all means the Aeronautic school is open for anyone to go through the stress.
There must be parity in benefit for all the health care workers, If you want to chop like a consultant, kindly go through medical school, you cannot reap where you did not sow.
To believe that people who ended up in Nursing, Physiotherapy, Bio chemistry, Medical lab science were actually people who couldn't make it past MB exams or some who the JAMB cut off truncated their desire to be doctors, In the Hospital you want "Harmonized salaries" with doctors, what an ambition!!
If you like the official vehicle or the house incentive given to your CMD, by all means go to the medical school. we don't honor hard work in this country, The super eagles trained consistently for over 3yrs to qualify and prosecute the Nations cup qualifiers, the Nation's cup, the world cup qualifiers and the world cup proper, in the middle of the tournament, the FA is still haggling with their bonuses.
when are we going to enthrone merit and hard work in this country? nobody wants to work hard but they want the best life, look at the judiciary furore in this country, the judiciary is handicapped because there are so many loop holes in our laws, to believe it is our highest paid public servants that made those s!lly laws is disheartening.
You cannot give a doctor his deserved honor but we spend billions on militants, thieves whose radicalism nearly crippled our economy.
On what grounds is JOHESU members interested in the CMD (chief medical director) position? hope we are not looking at another monster resembling "federal character", "rotation of office" in our health care delivery system?
Permit me to borrow this perspective from Aura to buttress on this ill
the people who are supporting JUHEsU or whatever are people who have not realized why the doctors are striking, they are still laced with the emotion that doctors abandoned their patients but i tell you guys, if you have the least idea what these nurses and paramedicals are asking for, you will weep for this country.
If the NMA should return to work, the following situations are likely gonna play out.
1 as a patient under a consultant radiographer whose curriculum is limited to radiography and a few basic medical courses will have the final say on how you will be treated, before now, it used to be a doctor's call.
2, the leadership of the hospital, hitherto have been doctors, now these charlatans want to head a hospital too, what it simply means is that a physiotherapist CMD can tell a doctor how to treat you when he knows nothing about surgery that a doctor knows,
or an Aux nurse CMD can ask a surgeon to conduct a surgery with flash light aka "torch" after all, it is a minor surgery, what does she know?
Solution:
The Govt through the NOA should embark on a sensitization campaign, outlining the implications of this transition, after which there will be a referendum where we the patients will vote.
I cant Imagine a registered nurse who have been packing sh:t and p:ss all her life in the ward will one day become a CMD and decide for a doctor how to conduct his surgery.
The patients that will die on this senseless beuraucracy will be far higher than what will die now as a result of this industrial action, as a result, I implore the NLC, the TUC, PENGASSAN, NUPENG to join the NMA in solidarity because the politicians will take their wards abroad while we suffer for this senseless directive.
We run a doctors only CMD hospitals in Nigeria.
Now I want the paramedicals to base their arguments on the following points.
1 The UME and post UME cut off points for doctors and paramedicals for the last 10yrs, by schools with recognized college of medicine.
2 School fees: medicine vs others (since remuneration have become an issue)
3 The curriculum of a doctor from part 1 to consultancy vs the others.
4 from point 1,3 above, we can now decide whom the CMD cap fits.
God bless u hundred times. U spoke it ol. |
Jobs/Vacancies › Re: FAAN RECRUITMENT EXERCISE by bd4real: 4:07pm On Feb 28, 2015
