DVC challenges medical students on work ethics
200 level medical students of the University of Ilorin have been urged to strive hard and be committed in dealing with health problems and translate their experience to local content that will be useful to the communities for the safety of humanity.
Y.A. Abdulkareem, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Management Sciences of the University gave the advice on Thursday at the College of Health Sciences 200 level Community Based Education and Service (COBES) students’ oral presentations held at the university.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, who was represented by the Dean of Life Sciences, Sani A. said that medical practitioners are also local lecturers and must do their best in the areas of addressing health challenges of the local communities within their localities.
While appreciating the support and presence of the districts, heads where the students served, he urged the medical students of the University to strive hard to translate their experience to local content that will be useful to the local communities.
Sani also appreciated the readiness of the students to impact knowledge learnt and promised that the University would continue to support them to make them excel.
The students, numbering 216 were grouped into eight rural communities (i.e Alakuko, Apado, Igbonla, Ijagbo, Ikotun, Ipee, Iponrin, and Oke-Ose), while presenting their three weeks COBES experience to the college management .They lamented health and environmental challenges they witnessed in the communities.
According to the students, rural health challenges include self-medication, excessive consumption of alcohol and the use of firewood for cooking, which expose them to danger, arthritis by old people and the relatively younger ones with hypertension, lack of basic amenities such as potable water, electricity and standard health facilities.
The students assisted in addressing some of the challenges under the supervision of health workers. They tested people to detect hypertension and other ailments and participated in environmental sanitation and waste disposal in the communities. Many of them also partook in the series of health talks and community services, such as distribution of First Aid boxes to the Health Centers and Schools, and erecting sign-posts on prevention of HIV/AIDs.
Speaking earlier, the Provost of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ilorin, B. R. Johnson, implored the students to make judicious use of their experience and always be ready to serve humanity.
Johnson, who was represented by the Dean of Faculty of Clinical Sciences, O. T. Adedoyin, appealed to the students to create proper set goals, which should include serving in rural communities. He added that records have shown that health challenges in these communities are herculean.
In his remarks, the COBES Coordinator, M. M. B. Uthman, commended the management of the University for the COBES initiative and the various communities for being good hosts to the students.
Reacting on behalf of the host communities present at the presentation, KayodeOnire, said that the students were well composed, hard-working and made great impacts on the communities they served.
Onire encouraged the University management to continue with such initiatives, adding that it would foster love and understanding between the future doctors, University community and the rural dwellers.
A member of one of the groups, Jude Ifechukwu, said that though the communities were friendly to them, it is disheartening that the people live with series of health challenges that had become the bane of their lives.
Ifechukwu further disclosed that some of the health challenges prevalent in these communities include hypertension, diabetes, elephantiasis, diarrhea and typhoid, among others and urged the government to extend health, road, water and environmental facilities to these communities.
SIKIRAT SHEHU