I just saw a post here on Nairaland about quack docs nd after reading through it, I just had to shed more light on d issue, cos I'm a medical stdnt myself. I am aware that some of my points have been raised on dat post, but most people might not see d whole story.

1. Getting a MBBS degree isn't an easy job. Most science students want to be doctors, but only a few are chosen, we undergo lots of scrutiny before we r offered admssions. We always had to be d very best of d best cos of various cut-offs and weeding offs. So any time you u get a doctor with an MBBS degree, always know dat (s)he is going to be superb in he(r) judgement.

2. Doctors are human. We can make mistakes. We deal with human lives nd we av been rigorously trained not to make any form of errors, but at mistakes happen. It may be sad, but we all must accept dat fact. Humans are affectd by a myriad of conditions wc can affect decision making and accuracy. But know that we always try our best no matter d personal sacrifices we make everyday. An error in a thousand shouldn't be allowed to spoil d gud work of doctors.

3. Poor equipment in hospitals put us at a disadvantage because it reduces our accuracy in diagnosing. Naija docs try our best but we are far behind d kind of equipmnts used abroad. This will tell in d diagnosis of lots of patients.

4. Patients' dishonesty will sometimes affect d diagnosis of doctors. Patients sometyms feel ashamed of reporting certain symptoms. Some patients just lie about their symptoms. We av been trained to try and cajole our unco-operative
patients as hard as we can. But an adequate history and proper examination will always be useful in getting accurate diagnosis.

5. Specialisation and experience is always goin to be important. In the other post, d OP talked about d fact dat her daughter's pneumonia was diagnosed wrongly by a GP but eventually rightly by a paediatrician. This explains my point. Another instance was wen a poster said a prof was reprimanding a stdnt. Experience can't be taught. Medicine is a BROAD subject. So many diseases produce similar symptoms. Doctors can consult with fellow doctors nd with texts cos we aint perfect and we are trying to play it safe at all times.

Thanx y'all for reading.

don't thank me, i didn't read it. Just came here to 'K' it. K.

Do Doctors actually use these equipments?? I mean Laboratory equipments..

Isn't that the job of a Med. Scientist/Technologist??

Doctors don't use some equipment. Even though we all are trained to. But, these equipments are used to carry out tests for d doctors. These test results are further used in determining the cause of illness of d patients.

So the equipments are always important in increasing accuracy of any diagnosis.

@ op, pls help me and am sure some other Nlanders to understand ur rationale for defending quack doctors. I hope u are not one coz u sound like it even though u said u are stil in med school. Y defend quacks who rubbish the noble profession? Y defend quacks who endanger people's lives? I for one wudnt defend a quack doctor even though he were to be my brother. So pls i advice that u re-phrase ur topic.
Ur point 3 states that 'poor equipment at the hospitals puts doctors at a disadvantage...' i am in my thirtys but since i was born til date, i am yet to witness doctors going on strike to demand for better equipments in the hospitals which will make their jobs easier... Our health system in the country needs a complete over haul by the govt and doctors (not quacks) needs to go back to the ethics of their profession and do the 'right thing'.
Just my 2 cents

I am against quack doctors. I will never be one. What I'm against is people calling fully qualified medical doctors 'quacks'. Any1 who has an MBBS is fully qualified nd shouldn't be referred to as a quack. In my write-up, I just defended doctors. the quacks r those that don't have medical degrees and are consulted by ignorant people.


Going on a strike because of bad equipment is quite illogical. More people will die in d process. The best thing to do in dat situation is to get d equipments by requesting from d govt but @ dsame time continue working and managing with d ones we had just as few as they are. There isn't enough doctors in Nigeria sef, wat if we now strike cos of equipments dat cannot be rectified immediately. That would be grossly counter-productive.

Master_1: I am against quack doctors. I will never be one. What I'm against is people calling fully qualified medical doctors 'quacks'. Any1 who has an MBBS is fully qualified nd shouldn't be referred to as a quack. In my write-up, I just defended doctors. the quacks r those that don't have medical degrees and are consulted by ignorant people.


Going on a strike because of bad equipment is quite illogical. More people will die in d process. The best thing to do in dat situation is to get d equipments by requesting from d govt but @ dsame time continue working and managing with d ones we had just as few as they are. There isn't enough doctors in Nigeria sef, wat if we now strike cos of equipments dat cannot be rectified immediately. That would be grossly counter-productive.

in that case, u need to provide a suitable title nxt time coz ur topic and content of ur write up sounds contradictory. U (doctors) cant go on strike to demand for the provision of necessary equipments in the hosp.but u can down ur tools (go on strike) to demand for increased pay/allowances not minding the patients who suffer and die in the process, abi?