Efforts to advance medical science got a boost on Wednesday when doctors in reproductive medicine concluded a year-long training programme in infertility and assisted reproductive technology for the Post Fellowship Diploma of the West African College of Surgeons.
The year-long Post Fellowship programme, hosted by Nisa Premier Hospital, Abuja is for Consultant Gynaecologists to acquire knowledge and skills in advanced fertility treatments, providing participants hands-on training in in vitro fertilization (IVF) and related technologies.
Programme Director, Dr Ibrahim Wada said Nisa Premier Hospital was determined to embrace advancement in medical practice, hence the need for continuous training.
“The world is moving towards certifying basic minimum requirements for this kind of highly sensitive programme. And we are very happy to be the pioneer group that gave birth to this sub specialization programme.”
He said the programme provided post-training certification for doctors across Nigeria and West Africa, focusing primarily on the peculiarities of the black population.
Prof Joseph Ikechebelum and Professor Nkiruka Ameh, both members of the training faculty in advanced medical knowledge, expressed confidence in the ability of Nigerian doctors to provide specialist care.
Prof. Ikechebelum, Faculty Chairman of West African College of Surgeons, observed that “management of infertility and assisted reproductive technology is one of the sub-specialties in obstetrics and gynaecology. And for a long time, there was no certified, standardized training for gyneacologists in the area of infertility and assisted reproductive technology in the whole West African sub-region.”
Prof. Ameh described the fellowship programme as unique because fellows were trained with “our own patients- black women, Nigerian women, so they will fit better in the environment, and they will make management of infertility to be correctly done.”
Prof Hajara Umar Suleiman, a participant said most of Nigerian doctors who go abroad for specialist training in fertility treatment where often denied physical interaction with patients.
“They tell you that you don’t have the certificate of their country to practice. But in this place, we spent one whole year and we had a lot of hands-on experience,” she said.
Dr Dolapo Shittu, another participant, expressed gratitude to Nisa Premier Hospital for providing a platform for residency training and knowledge sharing with experts. “History was made today by the grace of God. I am very happy to be here,” he said.
Nisa Premier Hospital was in 2014 accredited for Post Graduate Residency Training in several specialties including obstetrics and gyneacology; family medicine, paediatrics, and anaesthesia. The hospital remains the only center accredited in the whole of West Africa for Post Fellowship Diploma Training in Assisted Reproductive Technology.
It also prides itself as the only centre in West Africa to have achieved that feat and it has created opportunity for consultants from other hospitals to train and obtain their diploma from the West African College of Surgeons.
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