The National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) held its 43rd Convocation Ceremony on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at the College Auditorium in Ijanikin, Lagos. The event marked another milestone in the College’s enduring commitment to advancing medical education and specialist training in Nigeria.
Since its establishment, the College has trained over 9,000 medical and dental specialists, significantly reducing the nation’s reliance on overseas training programs that often fail to address Nigeria’s unique healthcare challenges. In addition to its flagship Fellowship programme, the College introduced the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree to enhance research capacity and foster innovation among its graduates. It also offers various diploma programmes through its faculties. Today, NPMCN alumni serve in critical roles across Nigeria and internationally—as lecturers, academicians, healthcare administrators, and research scientists in both public and private sectors.
This year’s convocation was conducted in a hybrid format, allowing for both in-person and virtual participation. The majority of the graduates were drawn from the College’s specialty and subspecialty fellowship programmes, which span fifteen faculties. The fellowship training programme is a rigorous, full-time postgraduate academic and professional education initiative modeled after the British postgraduate medical education system. Training typically lasts between six and seven years.
The Convocation Lecture was delivered by Professor Solomon Kadiri, MD, FRCP, FWACP, FMCP, who spoke on the theme: “A Pandemic, Examinations and a Degree.” His address reflected on the challenges and resilience demonstrated by the medical community during the global health crisis.
A total of 480 individuals received awards during the ceremony. Four distinguished fellows were honored with the Distinguished Fellowship award. Four hundred and five individuals were awarded specialty and subspecialty fellowships across the College’s fifteen faculties. Thirty-four graduates received the Doctor of Medicine degree, while two each were conferred with Postgraduate Diplomas in Anaesthesia and Public Health. Additionally, thirty-seven individuals earned the Diploma in Family Medicine.
To date, the College has conferred the Distinguished Fellowship on 63 fellows, awarded fellowships to 9,151 individuals, and granted Honorary Fellowships to 35 recipients.
An analysis of the College’s fellowship output over the past decade reveals a peak in 2019 and 2020, with 450 and 459 fellows, respectively. This followed a steady rise from 343 and 340 in 2015 and 2016. However, the numbers declined to a low of 310 in 2021, before rebounding to 407 in 2023 and 338 in 2024. While it remains uncertain whether the decline—often attributed to the “Japa syndrome”—has been fully arrested, recent figures suggest a stabilizing trend. This is likely due to targeted interventions by the College and its faculties aimed at encouraging trainee intake without compromising academic standards.
In recent years, the College has expanded its training opportunities to meet evolving healthcare needs. The Faculty of Emergency Medicine has reached a significant milestone, with its first cohort of trainees scheduled to sit for the Part 1 Fellowship Examinations in October 2025. This development is the result of collaborative efforts with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
Similarly, the Faculty of Radiology has introduced training programmes in Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, while the Faculty of Internal Medicine now offers Interventional Cardiology. The Faculty of Anaesthesia has broadened its scope to include subspecialties in Pain Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, and Transplantation Medicine—a multidisciplinary initiative involving several faculties.
As the College continues to evolve, its commitment to excellence in postgraduate medical education remains unwavering. The 43rd Convocation Ceremony stands as a testament to the resilience, innovation, and dedication that define the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.