Consultant Doctors Threaten Strike over PhD Demand on Clinical Lecturers

Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has threatened to withdraw their services if the National University Commission (NUC) insists that doctors teaching clinical students in the university must have a PhD degree, demanding that the circular to Vice Chancellors of universities conveying the new policy be immediately withdrawn to avert the strike.

Addressing a press conference in Jos, Plateau State, the President of MDCAN, Professor Kenneth Ozoilo, said the modality of the strike will be that MDCAN will first withdraw services from teaching undergraduate medical students from the 24th of February, 2020. Then it will be followed with withdrawal from teaching doctors undergoing postgraduate training, before it will finally withdraw services entirely from the health sector if

NUC fails to withdraw the letter.

NUC had written to Vice Chancellors of universities that Medical doctors teaching students in the universities must have a PhD to qualify them for the job, noting that residency training leading to the possession of Fellowship is not enough to qualify them to teach medical students in the university.

It therefore advised doctors that have undergone residency training to enroll for a PhD programme to qualify them to teach in medical schools, noting that the prerequisite however, does not apply to doctors that are willing to limit themselves strictly to clinical practice without delving into teaching, since their residency training is sufficient for practice.

But reacting, the MDCAN President explained that the tedious residency training that lasts for a minimum of six years was equivalent to PhD degree and should be considered as a PhD.