Igbinedion University inducts 65 new doctors, charges them to put patients first

Education

BENIN CITY, Nigeria (Agency Report) — Igbinedion University, Okada (IUO), has inducted 65 newly qualified medical doctors, charging them to put patients’ welfare above personal interests and uphold the ethical standards of the profession.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, gave the charge at the institution’s 21st Oath-Taking and Induction Ceremony, describing medicine as a calling to serve humanity rather than merely a profession.

Ezemonye urged the new doctors to uphold human life, professional integrity, confidentiality, compassion and ethical responsibility.

Advertisement

“Patients will trust you with their lives. Families will depend on your decisions. Communities will look up to you for hope and healing,” he said.

He also stressed the importance of humility, teamwork and lifelong learning, noting that modern healthcare requires collaboration among doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists and other professionals.

The vice-chancellor said Nigeria needs doctors who are competent, innovative, ethical and compassionate, and who can contribute to improved healthcare delivery, research and public health.

Delivering the induction lecture, titled “Take a Bow,” Prof. Titus Ibekwe, an otorhinolaryngologist and public health professional, urged the new doctors to approach medicine as a lifelong commitment to service, humility, gratitude and continuous learning.

Ibekwe used three types of bows to illustrate the responsibilities of the doctors.

He urged them to “bow back” in gratitude to their parents, teachers and mentors; “bow down” in service to patients and humanity; and “bow forward” towards the professionals they are still becoming.

“The white coat is not a crown. It is closer to a towel,” he said, stressing that leadership in medicine begins with service.

Ibekwe warned the doctors against allowing professional status to overshadow their responsibility to patients and society, urging them to acknowledge what they do not know and remain committed to continuous learning.

“Keep learning. Keep listening. Keep kneeling. Keep becoming. The day you stop bowing is the day you begin to decline,” he said.

NMA Calls for More Housemanship Slots

The Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Edo Branch, Dr Andrew Eigbedion, called on the Federal Government and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to urgently increase housemanship slots for newly qualified doctors.

Eigbedion warned that increasing admission into Medicine and Surgery without a corresponding expansion in housemanship capacity could create another bottleneck for medical graduates.

He also urged the new doctors to contribute to addressing Nigeria’s healthcare challenges, including manpower shortages, inadequate infrastructure, rising healthcare costs, preventable diseases and health-worker migration.

The NMA chairman encouraged the doctors to embrace artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies while retaining the human element of medical practice.

“Nigeria is counting on you—not merely to inherit its healthcare system, but to help transform it,” he said.

The Provost, College of Health Sciences, IUO, Prof. Dominic Osaghae, urged the inductees to “heal with competence, serve with humility, lead with courage and uphold the honour of the medical profession.”

Osaghae described medicine as both a science and a calling, charging the doctors to protect patient confidentiality, seek help when necessary and pursue lifelong learning, research and professional development.

He also encouraged members of the graduating class to return to IUO as specialists, researchers, teachers and leaders to strengthen the institution and Nigeria’s healthcare system.

The Acting Dean, School of Clinical Medicine, Dr Imesidayo Eboreime-Oikeh, described the title “Doctor” as a public trust that requires sound judgment, accountability and humanity.

She urged the inductees to allow evidence, professional discipline and compassion to guide their practice, reminding them that the physician’s pledge should remain their moral anchor, particularly when no one is watching.

“Character is what remains when there is no audience,” she said.

The ceremony concluded with the administration of the Hippocratic Oath and the traditional taking of the bow, followed by the presentation of licences and certificates to the 65 inductees.

The Registrar of the MDCN, Dr Fatima Kyari, was represented at the ceremony by Dr Tijani Alimandaka, Assistant Registrar and Head of Medical Registration.

-NAN