W/ACollege of Surgeons train more surgeons

Accra, Feb. 6, GNA - A total of 105 out of 208 trainees, who took the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) and Physicians (WACP) examinations in 2005 passed with 11 graduating as Fellows. The Fellows included two each of General Surgeons, Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, two Radiologists, which included the first Ghanaian female, Dr Mrs Dzifa Tettey and an Anaesthetist, who is a female Ghanaian by name Dr Ahiaku.
The rest were two in Internal Medicine and one each of Plastic Surgeons and Community Health.
Professor Emmanuel D. Yeboah, President of the College, who announced this on Monday, said there were more than 200 Fellowship Trainee WACS Specialists at the Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals with 40 of them to graduate as Fellows within two and three years to join the specialists pool.
Prof Yeboah was speaking at the 46th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the WACS in Accra, which is the third time in the history of the College, the first being in 1969. The annual conference, attended by more than 500 Fellows is a major professional and academic event in the West African Sub-Region that gathers various specialists to strategise on how best they could provide effective specialist service to the citizens in the Sub-Region. Prof Yeboah said the fellows were determined to reproduce "ourselves and train more surgeons so that as we grow old, we will take the back stage so that the young Fellows will grow and take over the leadership of surgery and related disciplines in the Sub-Region. "We have, therefore, built the capacity for specialist manpower development in Ghana and West Africa", he noted.
He said 120 new fellows and 30 new diplomats would be admitted into the College including eight Ghanaians, who attained the Fellowship by examination and six Ghanaian diploma holders by examinations at the conference. Over 150 scientific papers would be presented in addition to symposia on Management of Pain in Cancer, Maternal Mortality in Child Birth, Vaccination against Cervical Cancer and Middle Level Surgical Specialists Manpower Development for West Africa. Visiting presidents from International Colleges including Mr Bernie Ribeiro, President of Royal College of Surgeons of England and Professor Robert Lane, President of Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland are also participating in the Conference. 6 Jan, 06