Early career doctors in Nigeria
[1] This term is more widely used in Nigeria compared to the junior doctor in the United Kingdom and Australia.
The term ECDs recently had a surge in popularity especially with the use of the term in the Challenges of Residency Training and Early Career Doctors in Nigeria (CHARTING) study which is a large multi-centre and multidisciplinary study in Nigeria to explore ECDs related themes.
While the later also occasionally used in Australia and in these two locations are essentially describing medical trainees whether interns or residents doctors and excludes dental practitioners.
This probably stems from her various roles over the years advocating and fighting for improved welfare of doctors and the health profession as a whole.
There is no gainsaying that the medical profession taps into and relies on the energy and vigour of this group of relatively young men and women.
Thus, it is incontrovertible that NARD has been the arrowhead of most of the gains made by the medical profession in the last four decades.
This is rather unfortunate as no doctor likes to abandon his patients, but the quest for self-survival and preservation usually leaves him with no other option.
Interestingly, the Hippocratic Oath has been revised in recent times to accommodate the fact that the physician needs to also take care of himself to enable him to attend to others.
Right from inception in the late seventies, NARD had picked up the gauntlet, and one of the earliest struggles was the issue of call allowance, which the Alhaji Shehu Shagari's civilian government eventually approved.
[7] NARD and NMA went on a collision course with the succeeding military regime of General Muhammadu Buhari over improvement in hospital facilities, overseas clinical attachment for her members and sundry welfare issues, and the military junta proscribed both associations.
[1] Leaders of the association had to take cover for their dear lives, and this period remains one of the darkest moments in the profession as it is believed this might have fueled the brain drain of the eighties.
After the Babangida regime lifted her proscription, NARD resumed from where it stopped and embarked on a National strike in late 1992, and this led to the first-ever review of the old Medical Salary Scale (MSS).
It is pertinent to note that NMA had championed the negotiations for the new salary scale CONMESS, it was a NARD strike of April 2010 that eventually led to it is implementation.
2014 will remain a year to remember in the annals of medical unionism as NARD and NMA both went on strike again in July.
The demands were improved facilities, relativity, universal health coverage, amidst other things.
More recently, NARD advocated and fought to ensure the residency training act was passed into law by the parliament and subsequently assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.
She also followed up to ensure implementation of this Act by relevant parastatals of government and teaching hospitals.
These have left her with some scars from previous battles, however, NARD as a union has remained steadfast and resolute in playing the role of lead advocate for improved welfare of doctors.
The modest gains made over the years are glaring for all to see while it is equally clear that the fate and the future of the profession rest squarely on her shoulders.
This was a follow up of a recently suspended industrial action where the house had again played a conciliatory role.
These challenges are numerous and unique because of the peculiar circumstances surrounding medical practice and the health sector in general in Nigeria.
For the long hours of work and the amount of stress they go through daily, inclusive of weekends, the salary they are paid is not commensurate.
Whenever they choose to ask for better pay and better working conditions, they are either harassed and threatened by the government itself or they are blackmailed by their fellow citizens with the Hippocratic Oath.
This number falls considerably short of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended doctor-to-population ratio of between 1:600 and 1:1000.
This means that the burden of the shortage of ECDs in Nigeria have to be borne by those who are on ground and available in the nation's hospitals.
This translates to prolonged work hours, little time for adequate rest and recuperation, stress-related illnesses, and high burn out rates in this category of doctors.
The resident doctor is expected to fulfil the requirements of his/her chosen specialty as laid down by the training colleges within the stipulated time to become a Fellow or exit the program.
There are two postgraduate medical colleges involve in the training of resident doctors in Nigeria.
Eligibility for the primary examination is a medical graduate undergoing or has completed or been exempted from the National Youth Service Corps.
Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Calabar We are Early Career Doctors We are NARD.
