The Medical and Dental Council (MDC) has inducted the second batch of the newly qualified physician assistants into the profession, granting them provisional registration to undertake their mandatory pre-registration internship at accredited health facilities across the country.
The 746 graduates inducted last Friday bring the number of physician assistance admitted by the council to 864 over a two-day ceremony.
The induction, held in Accra, formed part of the council’s statutory mandate under Part II of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (Act 857), which regulates the practice of doctors, dentists and physician assistants in the country.
The newly inducted physician assistants were drawn from accredited training institutions across the country who had successfully passed the council’s licensure examination.
The provisional registration authorises the inductees to begin supervised clinical practice during their internship, after which they will be eligible for permanent registration upon satisfying all prescribed requirements.
Professional responsibility
Addressing the inductees, the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, Dr Divine N. Banyubala, urged them to uphold competence, compassion, integrity and professionalism, stressing that public confidence in the profession would depend on their conduct and commitment to ethical practice.
He said the provisional registration was valid only at the health facility to which each practitioner had been posted and that the council would continue to assess their competence, conduct and readiness for permanent registration throughout the internship period.
Dr Banyubala advised the physician assistants to honour the professional oath they had taken by treating patients with dignity and empathy, safeguarding patient confidentiality, working within their competence and adhering strictly to the ethical standards of the profession.
Reposition physician assistant training
Representing the Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Director of Technical Coordinating at the ministry, Dr Hafiz Adam Taher, said physician assistants formed an important part of Ghana’s health workforce, with about 8,000 practitioners serving in various capacities across the country.
Dr Taher reminded the inductees that their attitude and conduct were as important as the clinical knowledge and skills they had acquired through training.
He said the Ministry of Health was working with the Medical and Dental Council and other stakeholders to strengthen regulation, improve quality of care and create pathways for professional development.
Dr Taher said discussions were ongoing to reposition the physician assistant training programme, including a proposal to shift from direct entry at the post-secondary level to a post-basic model aimed at enhancing clinical exposure and improving preparedness.
He added that plans were also being developed to create structured opportunities for qualified and high-performing physician assistants to pursue further training in medicine and dentistry.
Uphold patient interest
For his part, the Chairman of the Board of the Medical and Dental Council, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, urged newly inducted physician assistants to make patient care their foremost responsibility and uphold the highest standards of professionalism throughout their careers.
He advised the physician assistants to continuously update their knowledge and skills, stressing that passing professional examinations and being inducted into the profession marked only the beginning of a lifelong journey of learning.
The Board Chairman also urged the practitioners to treat every patient with dignity, respect confidentiality, listen to patients’ concerns and involve them in decisions about their treatment and care.
