Foreign trained doctors who fail mandatory exam five times can’t practice in Ghana – Council

The Medical and Dental Council says doctors who studied outside Ghana and failed the mandatory registration examination after five attempts will be rendered ineligible to practice in Ghana.

According to the Council, the policy was agreed upon in 2018 after a consultative engagement with respect to stakeholders and is to take effect in 2022.

The policy aligns with professional regulatory best practices to ensure that all doctors working in Ghana meet the minimum competency standards to provide safe and quality healthcare services.

Speaking to Citi News, the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, Dr. Divine Banyubala, said the policy will ensure that essential and pre-registration training of medical and dental practitioners is in accordance with the best international regulatory practice.

“This is a decision that was taken sometime in 2018 and was to take effect this year. It is in accordance with international medical regulatory best practices. The profession has to do with life and death, and we cannot risk it. In other countries like the U.S.A., you only get 4 attempts. In the U.K., you have only 3.”

“The board, in consultation with critical stakeholders, including a parliamentary select committee, came up with the 5 attempts considering our contextual peculiarities.”

---citinewsroom