A friend of mine, who is a nurse,
recently invited me to give a career talk to a group of senior secondary
school pupils in a public school. She needed professionals to talk to
the pupils about the medical profession as part of her project in
fulfillment of a degree programme in guidance and counseling. I was
invited alongside a pharmacist.
In my submission, I told the youngsters
that I was one of the best pupils in secondary school. My co-speaker,
the pharmacist, also said he was the best in his secondary school.
After the talk, one of the pupils
approached me and confessed that he was not among the best in his class
because his academic performance was just average. He asked, “Doctor is
there any hope for me? Will I be able to fulfill my ambition to become a
health professional?”
I had to tell him that hospitals are not
only for doctors, pharmacists and nurses. I made him to understand that
there were other health workers in the background. I told him about
colleges of health technology, which are virtually in almost all the 36
states of the federation. Also, I told him that such institutions were
equivalent to polytechnics and they were established for the purpose of
raising middle level health workers.
Parental guidance
When the time comes to leave school,
many 16 and 17 year-olds start to seriously consider what to do next if
they fail to get good results in their final examinations. In Year 11
or 12, the realities of adulthood, responsibility and work come rushing
towards these pupils like a runaway train with its headlights on high
beam. This is the time that parents help their children start their
adult life in an industry that offers immense opportunities for travel,
further study and career advancement.
I will start by talking about middle level health workers who are equivalent to technicians in the non-health sector.
Nigerian system
In the Nigerian context, schools of
health technology or colleges of health technology were established in
the late 1970s as part of Nigeria’s Basic Health Services Scheme to
train a new cadre of Public Health Care workers for the basic health
units in the country.
Currently, these institutions train a
variety of public health care workers, including community health
extension workers, junior community health extension workers,
environmental health officers, medical technicians and health
information managers.
Courses offered
Dental therapy: A dental therapist is a
member of the dental team who provides preventative and restorative
dental care, usually for children and adolescents.
Dental technology: Dental technicians
work as part of the dental care team within a dental laboratory and so,
they do not usually have direct contact with patients. They design and
construct various forms of artificial teeth and orthodontic appliances.
Health Information Management: This was
formerly called medical records, Health information managers design and
manage information systems in the healthcare system. They collect and
generate records and reports about patients who are being treated by
doctors and other clinicians.
Community Health Extension Worker: They
usually work in health centres in rural and medically underserved areas,
where they see and treat patients and provide a range of community
health services.
Medical Laboratory Technician:
Medical laboratory technicians play an important role in the prevention
and diagnosis of diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and AIDS. Medical
lab technicians work under the supervision of a laboratory scientists,
physician and perform laboratory tests on specimen.
Environmental Health Technology:
Environmental health officers (also known as public health inspectors)
are responsible for carrying out measures for protecting public health,
including administering and enforcing legislation related to
environmental health and providing support to minimise health and safety
hazards.
Pharmacy technician: A
pharmacy technician, sometimes known as a pharmaceutical technician, is a
health care provider who performs pharmacy-related functions, generally
working under the direct supervision of a licensed pharmacist
X-Ray technician: Also
known as radiologic technicians, these professionals are responsible for
safely using radiation to record an image of a person’s bones and
tissue. First, the technician must explain the procedure to the patient
and situate him or her on a table.
One important thing to know is that this
cadres are middle level health workers whose services are essential to
the functioning of a health facilities. They are accepted into the civil
service from grade level six or seven.
Basic pre-entrance requirement
The course duration ranges from two
years to four years, depending on the programme. One advantage of some
of the courses is that it will earn the person a certificate in their
chosen career. Some obtain a national diploma while some go further to
have a higher national diploma. Pre entrance requirements is also four
or five credits including Mathematics and English language.
Some of these courses don’t require
University Matriculation Examinations and the institutions running these
courses are all over the country, some of the programmes are run by the
university teaching hospitals all over the federation.
Employment opportunities
The Nigerian economy has compelling
needs in the primary health care sector. Most of the cadres mentioned
above the mid-level health workers have a comparative advantage in the
labour market.
The Babatunde Fashola administration had
offered all 265 graduates of the College of Health Technology in Lagos
automatic employment while attending the second convocation of the
college.
I was in a primary school recently to
encourage the pupils who were having their Career Day. Over a third of
the class were kitted in ward coats (doctor’s coat) and nurses’
uniforms. This means that a greater percentage of the pupils had chosen
to thread on the medical path.
Over 90 per cent of the pupils had not
heard of the words, ‘radiographer’, ‘physiotherapist’ and ‘medical
laboratory scientist’, although more than 40 per cent of them had done
X-rays, over 70 per cent had undergone laboratory tests and over 10 per
cent had had injuries before.
When the pupils who had encountered
these professionals in hospitals were asked to name the areas of
specialisation of those who had attended to them, these were their
responses:
Pupil 1: What do I call the man who massages my legs when I have injuries?
Doctor: He is a physiotherapist
Pupil 2: I was coughing and did a chest x-ray in the hospital. I don’t know the name to call the doctor that took my x-ray.
Doctor: He is not a doctor, He is called a radiographer.
Pupil3: What do I call the man who drew my blood and took my urine for a test in the hospital?
Doctor: He is called a medical laboratory scientist.
Pupil 4: One woman gave drugs to my mum and described how to use them to her. Is she a nurse?
Doctor: No she is not a nurse. She is a pharmacist.
I had suggested to the head teacher that
the career programme should be presented in the form of a drama script
and the pupils should be assigned to play the role of health workers. A
documentary or film was also suggested to him for subsequent editions.
My advice to the adolescent wishing to
start a career in medicine is that they should be studious and seek
counsel always. Certain medical care positions require a significant
amount of training before one can start practising. This typically
includes college, some graduate level course work and supervised
clinical rotation.
Optometrist:
Optometrists are primary health care specialists trained to examine the
eyes in order to detect defects in vision, signs of injury, eye diseases
or abnormality and problems. Optometrists make a health assessment,
offer clinical advice and, when necessary, prescribe spectacles or
contact lenses. In addition, they can dispense, fit and supply
spectacles or contact lenses. To qualify with a doctor of optometry
degree, a person needs to complete at least five years of undergraduate
courses in the university.
A medical laboratory scientist is a
pathology-based health care professional who performs complex chemical,
hematological, histopathological, cytopathological, microscopic, and
bacteriological diagnostic analyses on body fluids, such as blood,
urine, sputum, stool, cerebrospinal fluid, as well as other specimens.
Medical laboratory scientists work in
clinical laboratories at hospitals, physician’s offices, reference labs.
To become a medical laboratory scientist, a person needs to complete at
least five years of undergraduate courses in the university
Radiographer:
Radiography is one of the most important tools in modern medicine. The
use of X-rays, imaging and ultrasound enables diagnosis and assessment
that would otherwise be impossible. A radiographer is an allied health
professional who uses x-rays to produce radiographs of patients in order
to help diagnose the patient’s medical condition.
Radiographers just don’t operate x-ray
machines, but they also consult with patients before the procedure,
explain the process to them, accurately position the patients’ bodies
and make sure that the radiation levels are safe. To become a
radiographer, a person needs to complete at least five years of
undergraduate courses in the university
Nursing: There are
different types of nurses, but the basic duties include providing
patient care, making sure the doctor’s instructions are carried out,
administer medications to patients, and observing the patients. They may
also be responsible for explaining a patient’s illness to his/her
family. A nurse can get certified in several ways: a five- year nursing
degree (bachelor of nursing science) or a three-year certificate from a
school of nursing.
Physicians/doctors:
You need six years of undergraduate medical school. To become a medical
doctor, one must complete an intensive programme of undergraduate
followed by hands-on training via clinical postings in a hospital
setting. While attending medical school, future physicians select a
specialty such as family medicine, pediatrics, surgery or obstetrics.
Dentists: You need six
years of undergraduate medical/dental school to become a dentist.
Dentists are mouth and teeth doctors. They prevent, diagnose and treat
problems within the mouth,. They also repair chipped teeth, prescribe
dentures, and perform root canals.
Physiotherapists: They
are in high demand in the medical field. Individuals who work in this
capacity help patients with physical disabilities and well as those who
are recovering from injuries that impair their physical mobility. To
become a physiotherapist, a person needs to complete at least five years
of undergraduate courses in the university
Pharmacists:
Pharmacists are the medication management experts of the health care
team. Pharmacy is the science dealing with collection, preparation, and
standardisation of drugs. Pharmacists, who must earn a qualifying
degree, prepare and dispense prescribed medications. To become a
pharmacist, a person needs to complete at least five years of
undergraduate courses in the university.
Parents are to encourage their wards to
put in extra efforts as these courses are highly competitive. Pupils
should not be discouraged about the number of years spent in the medical
school, but they should be supported and advised appropriately. This
number of years is put into consideration in the placement of health
workers in the civil service as they are started on higher grades.
The university pre-entrance requirement
is also five credits including Mathematics and English language. Other
compulsory subjects are Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Most
institutions insist on having the grades at one sitting, while some
institutions may require candidates who have distinctions in the
sciences.
