Govt recalls retired doctors to teach medical students
Doctors at Mulago National Referral Hospital conduct an endoscopy examination on Friday. PHOTO/STEPHEN OTAGE
What you need to know:
- Retired medical workers have mastered skills in different specialised fields so they can mentor the students.
The Ministry of Education and Sports says it is engaging retired senior specialised medical workers to groom, mentor and teach students in different medical courses.
Speaking at the weekend during the briefing ceremony for the coordinators of the Uganda Allied Health Examinations, which begin today, Dr Safina Musene, the commissioner for business technical and vocational training at the Education ministry, said they need the workers because of their expertise in different medical fields.
“In the ministry, we have the concept of mentorship which applies to a senior and junior person. We use senior citizens to mentor junior persons because they have been exposed to management of diseases and medical problems and training these people takes a lot of time,” she said.
She explained that whereas the Public Service Standing Orders dictate that the civil servants retire when they clock 60 years, as a ministry, they believe that they (senior medics) can perform after 60 years because they have mastered skills in specialised fields such as clinical medicine, medical laboratory and entomology which have very few professionals.
On Saturday, the Uganda Allied Health Examinations Board (UAHEB) briefed the coordinators of 2019/2020 second semester examinations about what is expected of them during the examinations.
Mr Joseph Agondua, the executive secretary of UAHEB, said 10,666 students will be sitting the examinations.
“In 2010, we would have between 200 and 300 disciplinary cases before the examinations security but we put in place disciplinary measures including forcing students to repeat regardless of the number of course units attended,” he said.
Mr Steven Aisu, the board chairperson, said in case of examination malpractice, they hand over students and teachers to the police for investigation.
The UAHEB conducts examinations for diploma and certificate complementary medical courses which include Medical lab technology, pharmacy, environmental health, medical radiography, medical entomology, clinical psychology community health, and dental technology.
