within the health sectors are lots of health workers and professionals; physicians, medical laboratory scientists, pharmacists, nurses, radiologists, physiotherapists, health record officers just to mention few common ones. The role of all these professionals are clearly stated, and the health sector can not do without any of them. So why would a professional body be parading them selves as the best and leader every time. Its like a human body, the eyes is not superior to the nose, nor mouth nor ears nor hand superior to the leg, the reason being that each of them has their function and the body cannot be at optimal function in the absence of any. Hence the question, who made doctors the leader and the best? And what is the solution to this unfortunate problem in the health sector in Nigeria? Doctors vs other health professionals.

yemiteantho: within the health sectors are lots of health workers and professionals; physicians, medical laboratory scientists, pharmacists, nurses, radiologists, physiotherapists, health record officers just to mention few common ones. The role of all these professionals are clearly stated, and the health sector can not do without any of them. So why would a professional body be parading them selves as the best and leader every time. Its like a human body, the eyes is not superior to the nose, nor mouth nor ears nor hand superior to the leg, the reason being that each of them has their function and the body cannot be at optimal function in the absence of any. Hence the question, who made doctors the leader and the best? And what is the solution to this unfortunate problem in the health sector in Nigeria? Doctors vs other health professionals.

You are starting something that is very unnecessary. I assume everyone taking a job knows its demands.

The demands for a doctor is to be armed enough to take the final decision on patient care. The WHO already makes them the head of any medical team.

It is like the secretary asking to be the boss.

So, if you aren't satisfied with your position(as a nurse, pharmacist or whatever), simply get an MBBS or a MD.

I am ashamed at all of these coming out of Nigeria. The professionals are supposed to be proud of their profession and diligently work at it rather than this continuous show of dissatisfaction with their profession and what position it inherently puts them.

The effect of this is going to be a total lack of self esteem in d younger people in these professions. They will lack the dignity to look at the said superiors because their own role models are already putting it in their mind that their inability to become CMDs make them less respected, make their profession less worthy, etc.

The worst to happen to our health sector would be when nurses become CMDs. Olohun ma je! Tufiakwa..

I hope the ministry of health is not going to make that blunder

Hello, i dont know who you are or your profession, but i think you did not get what am advocating for. Let me give you this straight foward analogy, if i am a doctor and i am the head of a health institution, the decisions i will be making will be bias towards my own profession and at the expense of other professionals, hence the patients. So what am saying in real sense is that who we need as the head is not a health professional, but a health administrator or health economist. And mind you, WHO never put any body as the head. In advance countries, what they have in their hospitals is a board who has a chairman. And finally, in nigeria, see what is happening to the ministry of health where presently the health sector is in a state of comatose, hence the anti onyebuchi protest in december, Yet the best minister of health we ever had is Professor Eyitayo lambo who is not a health professional but a health economist.

OH. Really? What is your own profession?

The only people who have since been concerned about the who that heads the health institutions have been the 'other health professionals' who think they deserve to lead like the doctors do.

I hear the latest strike at OAUTH is for this reason. Smh for Nigeria!!

I wont be surprised if you are one of them.

The issue is simple actually, professional management courses to be taken by doctors who want to be CMDs

Health system needs reform. If allied health workers want cmd positions, then directorate should be introduced for services render by doctors in line with ameria practice as being campaigned for by health workers. For medical doctors u have the following directorates pathological, urological, oncological, haematological, etc almost 50 services. U guys know power of directors in civil service. Imagine having 50 specialist doctors as directors. Hospitals would see hell.

deols:

You are starting something that is very unnecessary. I assume everyone taking a job knows its demands.

The demands for a doctor is to be armed enough to take the final decision on patient care. The WHO already makes them the head of any medical team.

It is like the secretary asking to be the boss.

So, if you aren't satisfied with your position(as a nurse, pharmacist or whatever), simply get an MBBS or a MD.

I am ashamed at all of these coming out of Nigeria. The professionals are supposed to be proud of their profession and diligently work at it rather than this continuous show of dissatisfaction with their profession and what position it inherently puts them.

The effect of this is going to be a total lack of self esteem in d younger people in these professions. They will lack the dignity to look at the said superiors because their own role models are already putting it in their mind that their inability to become CMDs make them less respected, make their profession less worthy, etc.

The worst to happen to our health sector would be when nurses become CMDs. Olohun ma je! Tufiakwa..

I hope the ministry of health is not going to make that blunder

you didn't answer the op's question. With the above comment, you probably believe that it is doctors vs nurses( no other health professional inclusive). Talking about self-esteem, you only ended up degrading the nursing profession the more with your comment which is really lacking constructive assertions but filled with sentiments. In Bostwana, their former health minister was a nurse and she did exceptionally splendid.
@ topic, doctors has powerful lobby group and good publicity in Nigeria so they will always get the people on their side. They better do and enjoy it while it last, cos with obamacare in US, they are not finding it funny.
Lack of equity in health administration not in patient care should be looked into. In Patient's care, doctor's has the final say but in deciding who to be

promoted to level this or that,
what other health professionals should be earning,
career advancement of other professionals like stopping them at assisstant director level (but with the insistent of these professionals , they are surely making head-way), i believe is one of the roots of nigeria health sector problems.
I believe the only solution is just privatise the damn health sector and let everybody be an employee to be payed according to your years of education, experience, expertise instead of sentiment and public opinions at least if you are not satisfied you can drop your profession and choose another profession or upgrade yourself.

Let us see how this will end.

I really don't see it as a nurses versus doctors thing. I have experienced it first hand how the others(pharmacists inclusive) feel about doctors.

Let each person stay where they belong. Political appointments are different from hospital administration.

But you dont mind being employees so far others apart from doctors are the ones managing health care. Isn't it obvious your beef is with the doctors?

The day nurses head health teams in Nigeria is d start of the dooms day, believe me.

I'd rather stay in d academics than work in a hospital run by a nurse! Tufiakwa. With their stinking attitude et al?? on their behalf.

Have you heard about Joint Health sector union JOHESU? That is a body that brought together all health professionals minus the doctors. The strike in OAUTHC was not caused by the nurses, it was ochestrated by the above named body. Your statement that doctors have the final say on a patient is very false. Patients comes in to meet the doctors, they are refered to the medical laboratory scientists, from there back to the doctors, then to the pharmacists. Nurses and healt record officers comes in between. So basically, dats d trend. No one has the final say as every one has one thing or the other to contribute. And by the way, i am a medical laboratory scientist.

yemiteantho: Have you heard about Joint Health sector union JOHESU? That is a body that brought together all health professionals minus the doctors. The strike in OAUTHC was not caused by the nurses, it was ochestrated by the above named body. Your statement that doctors have the final say on a patient is very false. Patients comes in to meet the doctors, they are refered to the medical laboratory scientists, from there back to the doctors, then to the pharmacists. Nurses and healt record officers comes in between. So basically, dats d trend. No one has the final say as every one has one thing or the other to contribute. And by the way, i am a medical laboratory scientist.

You spit meconium. doctors make final decision on patient. doctors order tests which are run by mls. doctors interpret the results and compare it with clinical features and make a diagnosis. doctors plan treatment. for admissions or injections nurses follows doctors order. doctors can also refer to nutritionist or physical therapist.
let me tell u.difficult diagnosis are sorted by pathologists or radiologists who also doctors. just as radiographers assist radiologists also medical lab scientists assist pathologists in lab. that is standard worldwide.

mr medical laboratory scientist 90% of laboratory tests are not helpful in making diagnosis. the only exemption is histopathology where u guys have no option to cooperate with pathologists. i know in chemical pathology,microbiology and haematology you have reduced pathologists to nothing. check google the meaning of pathologist.any medical laboratory that does not have pathologist as consultant is a doom. most medical tests are not reliable because pathologists are not there for quality assurance.

who issue medical report?if you get sick do you think pharmacist,nurse or med lab scientist can issue medical report? it is only doctors that have final say on medical report.

Oh boy, even though you have outrightly digressed from the message i was realy tryin to pass across, i will tell you that most of what you said are not facts. If 95% of results from the labs are not reliable, why would the doctors still depend on those results to give their diagnosis? In microbiology dept, its even the case that the scientists suggests the antibiotics to prescribe and the ones not to be prescribe through the help of sensitivity testing. What you said abt a pathologist is very correct, but the question to you is how do you become a pathologist and what will you hold in order to be called a pathologist? With me is the eligibility criteria to enrol in the royal colege of pathologist, united kingdom, and the course outline through 5yrs at the college. The first criteria is if u back a Bmls degree (which is the first), mbbs degree, and other medical science degree. Let us not digress from the main issue. Pronto.

Can you people go over to the medical recall thread and manage some medical conditions.
all other professionals have their independent duty and decision to perform.
@laalamed, saying or rather insinuating that doctors can do everything they do, makes me wonder why they still get paid at all.
People should research on various duties performed by different health professionals not just commenting based on hearsay or wrong perceptions.

Joanna Sedley: Can you people go over to the medical recall thread and manage some medical conditions.
all other professionals have their independent duty and decision to perform.
@laalamed, saying or rather insinuating that doctors can do everything they do, makes me wonder why they still get paid at all.
People should research on various duties performed by different health professionals not just commenting based on hearsay or wrong perceptions.

do not get me wrong.allied health workers assist doctors in discharging their duties. patients are assigned to doctors only. a patient has right to change his doctor.it is only doctors that make diagnosis. if problems happen to a patient it is doctors they would take to court to defense his treatment in most cases.