Communique of the 15th Quadripartite Meeting of Sister Colleges in West Africa Sub-Region

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 15th QUADRIPARTITE MEETING OF THE NATIONAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF NIGERIA, GHANA COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, THE WEST AFRICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS AND THE WEST AFRICAN COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS

 Preamble

The Principal Officers of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN), the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS), the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) and the West African College of Physicians (WACP) held their 15th Quadripartite Meeting in the Board Room of the NPMCN Headquarters, Ijanikin, Lagos State, Nigeria on July 8, 2015, to continue their deliberations on the future of Postgraduate Medical Education in Anglophone West Africa. The meeting was hosted by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.

The sister Colleges reported their activities since the last quadripartite meeting held in Accra, Ghana on February 10, 2015.

Observations

The meeting made the following observations:

1.   The Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons that had already been inaugurated is yet to apply to join the forum.

2.   The harmonized accreditation guidelines which have been circulated to all sister Colleges, are yet to be adopted by the various Faculties of the Colleges.

3.   There is a commendable increase in the deployment of IT in the operations of various Colleges to improve efficiency.

4.   There is no uniformity in the mode of recruitment into residency training as regards remuneration and fee payment.

5.   There is a major concern as regards re-emergence of Ebola in Liberia specifically and the renewed threat of its spread to the sub-Region.

6.   Attempts are being made to make some clinical sub-specialties simply academic degrees in some parts of the sub-Region.

Resolutions

After extensive deliberations, the meeting resolved as follows:

1.   The newly inaugurated Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons should be further encouraged to formally apply to join the forum.

2.   Sister Colleges should ensure speedy compliance of the accreditation guidelines of their constituent Faculties within the next six months. WAHO should be formally notified of this decision in scheduling the meeting to finalize the process.

3.   Sister Colleges are encouraged to further deploy IT processes in the full digitization of records and also online registration and payment for examinations.  In the near future, this should be applied to computer based examination.

4.   Sister Colleges should be encouraged to adopt a model of recruitment into training programmes that will ensure the retention of the trained specialists in the sub-Region.

5.   All Colleges should continue to be proactive in the education/advocacy in the current Ebola outbreak and take appropriate actions.

6.   Sister Colleges are implored to ensure that they insist that clinical sub-specialization is the exclusive preserve of the Postgraduate Medical Colleges.

Prof.  R. A. Arogundade, FMCR., PNMC
President, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria                 8th July 2015