THE School of Medicine and Health Science, the country’s premier learning institution for doctors, is churning out sub-standard graduates, senior local doctors said yesterday in Goroka. Specialist medical officers and
private practitioners Dr Fredrick Kambual and Nikama Moiya, with John Tonar of Kundiawa General Hospital, were among others who told the medical symposium that the school, which is the medical faculty of the University of PNG at Taurama, lacked qualified teaching staff. They said the school was in a pathetic state without any qualified lecturers to take on the responsibilities of professors. It has declined to a stage where graduates who passed out of Taurama would not be recognised as medical officers in other parts of the world, unlike in the past. The specialist medical officers said during their time, every section at the faculty was well equipped and staffed with well-known specialist clinicians and professors, hence quality doctors were produced, but the specialist training required in medical training was not there now. "We did training in a very well setup faculty with special clinicians in all areas," Dr Kambual said. "Our academics were highly qualified. Now there is no professor in every medical discipline." "What’s the Government doing? What’s the University administration doing? Where are we going?" Dr Kambual said. "Every doctor that has come out of the Medical Faculty knows the quality of our doctors has declined. We lost all our specialist academics. Those of us who came out earlier can go anywhere in the world and work but not the recent graduates," Dr Tonar said. The doctors supported Professor Isi Kevau in opposing the idea of creating another medical school as proposed during the symposium. They added that rather than plan for a second school of medicine in the country, the Government should pour all resources to bring Taurama back to international recognition. Prof Kevau said the current school developed over the years without any major Government support and said the proposed Western Pacific University in the Imbongu electorate, Southern Highlands Province, should not have a medical faculty. Public Service Minister Dr Puka Temu said he would raise the issue in Parliament. Since the Medical School began training doctors in 1973, a total of 1168 doctors, of which 306 were women, have graduated. There are 291 specialist doctors from this total. Comments are closed.
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