Public Health Professionals of Zambia (PHAZ) has commended government for abolishing licensure examinations for Medical Doctors.
PHAZ President Maimpa Mumba says the move by government to abolish licensure examinations for Medical Doctors had come in handy as it would facilitate for the quick deployment of intern Doctors, especially.
Mr. Mumba, who is also Kalabo District Public Health Officer, observed that the move has potential to add value to the labor force as opposed to licensure examinations which are only once off and marred with suspicions of management and procedural impropriety.
PHAZ will follow these developments with keen interest and hoped that there will not be a biased approach towards the treatment of professions being regulated by Health Professions Council of Zambia (HPCZ).
Government through Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya this week abolished the HPCZ ‘s mandatory licensure examinations for Medical Doctors with a view to have more Doctors in the country.
Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya recently said government will not allow a situation where doctors graduate but wait for licentiate examinations while Zambians need to be attended to.
Dr. Chilufya said the important benchmark for doctors is a standard training which comes with qualified lecturers as well as adequate equipment and facilities.
The Minister directed medical schools to comply with the directive saying every doctor who graduates would now be issued a provisional license and later be issued with a practicing license upon satisfying the consultant.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mumba a has appealed to the Ministry of Health to engage HPCZ, relevant professional representative bodies and training institutions to develop well informed guidelines and tools to facilitate for skills enhancement for all health professions.
He said there is need to ensure that professionals are made within their training period through regulated practicum undertakings, workshops and internship.
“ the Ministry must strictly ensure that there is induction of all health professionals during deployment, “ said the PHAZ President who has since urged government to consider enhancing in-service trainings and workshops for health professionals at their various institutions in tandem with other Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs and activities.
FOR ME THATS OK FOR ZAMBIAN TRAINED DOCTORS BECAUSE THE TRAINING SCHOOL ARE ALREADY REGULATED BY HPCZ. BUT FOR THE FOREIGN TRAINED DOCTORS, THESE RULES MUST STILL APPLIED AS WE DO NOT CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS IN THOSE SCHOOLS SUCH AS IN DRC, UKRAIN
Try being a Doctor in the USA as UNZA MD graduate and see if you will even qualify to be a nurses’ assistant. Our health care personnel should be world class trained. This is why up to this day you have Vice President Inonge Wina going to India for a medical checkup because frankly Zambian MD’s are useless. And will be even more so now that they won’t have to sit for licensure exams. I just feel sorry for my brothers and sisters who will be taken care of by these half baked and incompetent MD’s.
This looks like the medical profession is jumping from the frying pan into the fire. No licensure exams could mean corruption now takes over
It’s a good move Impwa man! Quality assessment is the job of the hospital that the graduate is an intern at, it will allow for real practical assessment. If the senior and supervising resident Doctors feel the intern is not ready in a particular area then send that intern back to their training institution for more polishing. Actually the same should infact happen in the legal system. As too few lawyers are dominating the practice as this is leading to unnecessary adjournments and expensive fees. This is real practical thinking and I salute Doc Chitalu on this.
For some of us pursuing healthy projects is a welcome move.
Already therein is the problem … what is a “healthy” project Sir??
might as well do away with ZAILE for the lawyers so that they to can qualify quickly and make more money…its laughable you need certified practicing doctors not a graduate in medicine
The reason why professional bodies opt for practising license exams is because secondary and University education has lost credibility.The Higher Education Aithourity is only interested in registration and affliction fees to approve and recognize substandard higher learning institutions.It is raining degrees nowadays but the nation has little to show be for it
In a few years to come, you will see how much value Medicine as a Profession will lose. Oh, wait, it will no longer be a Profession because the Professional Exams have been abolished. What we will have will be the Medical Occupation, same as the Teaching occupation. The “advantage” will be that, just like Teachers, we will have Doctors at every clinic, no more shortage. We will also have them get paid peanuts because of oversupply. For instance, in Dubai due to fewer Teachers of English, language teachers make $3,500 and the lower end and $5,500 at the higher end depending on experience.
But salary is not an issue, the problem is that with poor Regulatory Institutions, many Medicine Programmes will proliferate and soon, even people who have not passed Maths would be able to enrol for…
… Medicine at “Universities” that only care about numbers. A higher number translates into a higher income.
Passing Exams is not a sign of intelligence you Africans! Why is it that the so called very bright students who pass those exams fail to stand on their own two feet without a job? It tells you that exams are nothing but parroting exercises that don’t develop a person in life skills! You have papers and are still looking for jobs? Can you do away with this Exam mindset thing that has destroyed many young souls! I support the Minister on this move to do away with the HPCZ nonsense! Why do they want to examine doctors who have already passed exams and certified fit to practice?
@chilufya (6)
This idea you have that education systems must produce entrepreneurs is a myth.In every country in the world there is overwhelmingly,more workers than employers.Education systems must produce people with sufficient and satisfactory competencies.exams,CAs and assignments are currently the best modes to assess student competence.The question about unemployment is for another day
What can one say? Zambia has suffered terribly through lack of leadership. This is one more example of a culture to look for the easiest way out, even when it’ll cost us dearly in the long term. Our country needs professionals with a vision to run it, not people with no interest in the poor people who can’t afford to go to India and South Africa. One wonders where our health minister was trained to what level. Sadly, he’s surrounded by people at his level.
This should be optional for the medical students to take the exam or not. In addition, MD’s should disclose to patients if they took the exam or not. Foreign Doctors should take the exam on a mandatory basis.
These were wrongly called exams, they should have competence assessments. Zambia has no professional bodies like Royal college of physicians or surgeons to assess competences of doctors. You need to strengthen those professional bodies to ensure quality health practitioners.
Good move, Lets have those ASSASSINS in the hospitals NOW!