Newly inducted doctors and dentists urged to accept postings to underserved areas  

Newly inducted medical doctors and dentists have been urged to accept postings to underserved communities and uphold the highest standards of professional ethics.

This would strengthen equitable healthcare delivery and advance universal health coverage across the country.

Dr Hafiz Adam Taher, Director, Technical Coordination, Ministry of Health (MoH), made the call at the induction ceremony of 118 newly qualified medical and dental practitioners organised by the Medical and Dental Council (MDC) in Accra.

He said the induction marked an important transition into professional practice and would strengthen Ghana’s health workforce of more than 14,000 practitioners.

Congratulating the inductees on behalf of the Government and the Ministry of Health, Dr Taher described their achievement as the result of years of discipline, sacrifice and perseverance.

“The oath you have taken is not merely ceremonial. It is a solemn covenant with humanity,” he said, urging the newly inducted practitioners to place patients’ welfare above personal interests and to serve with compassion, integrity and humility.

Dr Taher reminded the doctors and dentists that while professional knowledge would earn them respect, humility would earn them the trust of patients.

He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to achieving universal health coverage through the Free Primary Health Care Policy, saying its success depended on the willingness of skilled health professionals to serve in deprived and hard-to-reach communities.

Addressing concerns over postings, Dr Taher appealed to practitioners who were yet to report to their assigned stations to do so without delay.

“Posting is not a punishment. It is a mark of professional trust and responsibility,” he said, adding that in many communities a single doctor could make the difference between timely intervention and avoidable loss of life.

Dr Taher acknowledged the challenges associated with some postings but said medicine was a calling that required service above personal comfort.

He commended the MDC for commissioning the first phase of its Cancer Specialist Training Centre and Head Office complex and for introducing professional identification measures, including practitioner stamps, name tags and professional apparel in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority.

Dr Taher also congratulated the Council on its selection to host the 28th Annual Conference of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa later this month.

The Medical and Dental Council is the statutory body established under Part II of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857), to regulate the training and practice of medicine and dentistry in Ghana.

Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Chairman of the MDC, reminded the newly inducted practitioners that professionalism demanded doing “the right thing all the time at the highest level and to all manner of persons.”

He urged them to make patients’ welfare their foremost concern, maintain professional competence through continuous professional development, respect patient confidentiality, avoid discrimination and work within the limits of their competence.

Prof Akosa also appealed to parents and guardians to support their children in accepting postings across the country rather than seeking transfers to preferred locations.

“Ghana is everywhere, and everywhere there are people who need your services,” he said.

Prof Akosa encouraged the inductees to regard their housemanship as the foundation of successful professional careers.

He urged them to work diligently, seek guidance from senior colleagues and earn the respect of their peers through competence, integrity and dedicated service.

GNA