The chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of this year’s annual lecture of National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Dr. Chinyere Pedro-Egbe said the programmes of the college are for specialists and not for all comers.
Dr. Egbe made his position known during an interview with journalists at the end of the 14th annual faculty of ophthalmology lecture and launching of faculty endowment fund in Port Harcourt.
Dr. Egbe who is also a Senior Lecturer, Department of Surgery, University of Port Harcourt stated that the annual lecture is used to upgrade knowledge of members and also intimate others about their activities.
Answering question on the reason for endowment and the forward, she maintained that the launching of an endowment fund for the faculty is to raise fund to train resident doctors, say they will move the faculty forward in the area of equipment maintenance because of the high equipments used by the faculty, noting that the medical equipment are too expensive to be left with Federal government alone.
She told journalists that because the equipment are cost effective there is need to train those who can maintain when it break-down as there are lot of work discomfort, especially as Nigeria lack maintenance culture.
Earlier, the faculty chairman, Prof. Victoria Pam said the faculty has been in existence for the past 34 years.
Prof. Pam stated that the faculty’s mandate is to train the certification of eye specialist that meet international standard as well as the need of our peculiar community.
She explained that apart from training the faculty establishes and update training curriculum that meet current and best practices as well as running course and workshop.
The chairman of the occasion and former vice-chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Nimi Briggs charged the faculty of Ophthalmology National Postgraduate medical college of Nigeria to continue to maintain the high standard in service delivery.
In a paper titled “Transforming Nigeria Through Excellent Service Delivery by the 50,000 workers” Brigadier Dr. Tarilah Tebepah a senior lecturer, Department of Ophthalmology, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State and chairman, governing board of Niger Delta development commission stated that Nigeria lacks service delivery culture.
Dr. Tebepah who was the guest lecturer told participants that service delivery culture is the manifestation of a passion driven commitment to give standard service to people at every point in time.
He said the obstacles in Nigeria in the area of bad road, lack of equipment, lack of potable water and epileptic electricity supply should not discourage Nigeria to reach their destination.
The university Don, stated that the new Nigeria must have certain credible qualities such as truthfulness, hard work, justice, value for life and the love for the country.
In an interview shortly after the event, Dr. Telepah said one of the medical challenge is that members have refused to identify with the body while calling on Nigerians to support the institution. ###
Pius Dukor
