The 54th Scientific Conference of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) has opened in Kumasi with a call by President John Dramani Mahama to the leadership to review the conduct of its surgical examination.
He said this should not be glossed over considering the difficult and complicated nature of the examination, which tended to deny many prospective surgeons from pursuing their desired careers.
President Mahama, in an address read for him, expressed discomfort with the current situation where it took up to about five attempts before one could pass the examination.
This to a large measure had accounted for the limited number of surgeons in the sub-region.
Only about 20 per cent of those who sit for the examination is said to make it, something that has not been helpful to the sub-region, depriving many communities from enjoying surgical services because of the inadequacy of personnel.
President Mahama suggested to the College to also admit more women for its training programmes.
This could be done by devising flexible curricula and work schedules that permitted female trainees to maintain a balance between their clinical and family responsibilities.
He asked the surgeons to embed research into their activities to ensure that treatment decisions were based on sound scientific evidence rather than the opinions of their trainers and mentors.
He noted that without a well-researched understanding of some of the local barriers to the provision of healthcare to the people, many seemingly well-thought out interventions might fail.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, urged policy-makers to invest in surgical training and infrastructure, to make surgical services available in remote areas.
This, he said, would help protect unsuspecting patients from unqualified professionals, offering spurious remedies to surgical conditions such as uterine fibroid, goitre and hernia.
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