The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association has urged the elders in the profession to mentor young doctors for the improvement of healthcare delivery in the country.
The Chairman of the chapter, Dr Saliu Oseni, made the appeal during the Elders’ Interactive Forum organised by the chapter on Monday in Lagos.
The forum has as its theme: “Sitting with Elders to Move NMA Forward”.
Oseni said that there was the need for the association to bring its elders back into the system so they could participate more in the association’s activities and contribute more to the medical profession from their wealth of experience.
He said: “Medical practice has to do with experiences; like an apprentice learning from his or her teacher, so we need to learn from our elders who have more experiences.
“Over the years, the roles of our elders have become necessary for us to move the medical profession forward.”
He said that the Lagos chapter of the NMA organised the forum because its members had realised that some of their elders in the profession were not really active in its activities.
He said: “It is very important to recognise our elders in the profession by tapping from their knowledge, presence and wisdom.
“We need to know that our elders are our leaders; we need their mentoring for more experiences in the profession.
“Our elders also need to know that for them to lead well, they need to mentor by teaching or passing their experiences to the younger ones in the medical profession.”
Oseni said that young doctors learning from their elders would make health system to be very functional, especially, in Lagos state.
He said: “Over the years, we have lost opportunities to gain from their wisdom and experience; that is why we are re-inviting them into the association.
“We really need to tap from their experiences and knowledge both in the running of the association and in medical practice.”
He said that the members had discovered that most of their elders are permanent secretaries, past and present chief medical directors, former commissioners for heath and so on.
He said: “We really need them to put forth agenda or policies that can help turn around the failures recurring within the health profession.
“We also need to do something about the constant brain drain in the profession by replacing those that had left with young doctors.”
Oseni said governments needed to improve healthcare delivery by employing more doctors because doctors are human beings and have their limits.
Also speaking, Ubong Essien, Professor and Dean, School of Eloquence, Lagos, said that doctors needed leadership and mentorship to work between elders and the young doctors.
Essien said that the young as well as the elderly and experienced doctors needed to work together to engender good mentorship because good mentorship will guarantee good leadership.
He said: “Looking at every profession, mentoring is a very universal concept whether it is in medicine, engineering or any field of human endeavours.
“Every profession is known for its tradition; elders are really the translators of every tradition and are always ready to pass their knowledge to younger ones.
“Failure to mentor the young ones can create gaps for the current or young medical practitioners which can affect their sense of history.
“Without mentorship, leadership can never be sustainable because mentorship and leadership work together.
“Every young doctor should submit to their elders in the profession and be ready to drain from their wells of wisdom.”
Dr Bayo Aderiye, the Chairman, Health Service Commission, Lagos State, said that separation between the elders and the young doctors was not good for the profession.
Aderiye said that most times when the NMA was having programmes , you would hardly find the elders participating.
He said: “It is even in our code of medical ethics that your senior colleagues or teachers should be respected and carried along in any activity.
“The new NMA leaders in Lagos State will ensure that they build a cordial relationship between its elders and the young doctors.
“I am happy about the latest development because we are ready to groom and mentor the younger ones in order to have a good health system.”
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