The ceremony involves a formal robing of students in a doctor’s traditional wear – the white coat.

The students, who are currently in Level 400, will graduate in 2027.

Significance

The Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council, Dr Divine Banyubala, who was the guest speaker, described the event as necessary since it imbibed in the student doctors and dentists the virtues of integrity, confidentiality, love and compassion needed for the work.

“As each of you walks across this stage today, you begin your journey in medicine and dentistry, inspired by the wisdom of Sir William Osler, who declared that the practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business.

“You, as medical and dental students, bind yourselves to the same professional commitments that bind all physicians and dental surgeons,” he added.

Dr Banyubala also said that the ceremony joined the students with the time-honoured virtues of altruism, responsibility, duty, honour, respect for human dignity and compassion, symbolised by the white coat.

“You put on the white coat today, which is not just a garment in our professional space but a symbol of the sacred trust that you, as stewards of human health, have accepted.

“You make your white coat important to patient care, as it represents the trust and responsibility that you have undertaken.

“Patients favour physicians and dental surgeons who wear the white coat, as studies have shown,” he added.

Opportunities

The Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) at UG, Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante, also urged the transiting students to turn every challenge they face into opportunities to help make the world a better place.

“Also to faculty, we in management, we know all the challenges you are going through and I am also hoping that you can turn the challenges into opportunities,” he said.

Dr Asante further advised the students to take advantage of their clinical period to develop their skills to excel in the medical profession.

“Taking time to develop your skills will ensure that you become a doctor or dentist who is morally useful to the community,” he added.

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As a science student of Cape Coast-based Ghana National College, Nana Aba said she gained admission to medical school but couldn’t go due to pregnancy.

“Did I sacrifice school? I did. For one year, and I’ve never said this before, but I got admission to medical school. You know, I was a science student as well, so I got admission to medical school, and I had to let that go,” she disclosed in an interview with 3 Music TV.

In what to her appeared as a divine intervention, the broadcaster said she had to make the tough choice for the sake of her unborn child.

“I would have been a disaster as a medical doctor and it came at the right time. My father was living his life through me. I think he wanted to be a doctor; he couldn’t do it, so he thought, Oh, my daughter will be a doctor,” she narrated.

She acknowledged her experiences and life decisions have shaped her to become the woman she is today.

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Orphaned at a young age, Tadesse Ghichile, couldn’t continue his formal education after middle school until much later.

Now, he’s attending Jimma University in the western part of the country where he hopes to graduate with a medical degree.

Tadesse Ghichile is a farmer. When he’s not tilling the land, he works in a café in his village to support his family.

Yet somehow he found time to take – and pass – the national university entrance exam.

It was 10 years ago that he decided to resume formal education, which he had left in eighth grade following the death of his parents.

For a long time he had found it difficult to return to school especially after he started a family. But once he was back, he was determined to see it to the end.

Now, he’s enrolled in one of the country’s biggest universities.

He told the BBC he’s had lots of support from fellow students in the past few years and that he’s looking forward to what lies ahead.

Prof Addae Mensah, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, disclosed this in an interview with Joy News.

The academician, who was recounting the gains of the schools of origin on 60 years of medical education, said the contributions made by these institutions have been enormous taking into account the quantum and quality of personnel churned out by these two medical schools.

Prof. Mensah was, however, worried that little is being achieved in the area of studying medicine as a vehicle for social mobility.

The academician explained “at the last count we are supposed to have seven hundred and 20 Senior High Schools in the country.

“For the period of 2012 to 2020, we have admitted 1,272 to the University of Ghana medical school, we have admitted similar numbers to the KNUST school of medical sciences.

“Of those number of students admitted, they come from just about 110 schools, which means there are 610 schools in this country who have never sent a student to our two medical schools for the past eight years.”

The statistics get more interesting as the Professor further revealed that out of the 110 schools that supplied the students for these two flagship schools, the first five schools in the country have been dominant.

“Let’s take the University of Ghana Medical School. From 2013 to 2020, the 1,272 students, the first five schools – Wesley Girls School, Presec (Legon), Achimota, Mfantsipim, Holy Child and Prempeh – bracket in the fifth position, these five schools alone have produced 50% of the medical students and 18 schools have produced more than 75% of the students in our medical school,” he added.

This means the 25% left is shared among the remaining schools giving them a slim probability of getting any of their students in the medical school.

As to what has accounted for this phenomenon, the renowned professor attributed it to the absence of school facilities that create a congenial atmosphere for learning science and mathematics.

He underscored the need for the provision of science laboratories for the less endowed schools. Professor Mensah reiterated the need to improve facilities in the schools.

He was of the view that rather than set up stem schools as the government intends to do, they should rather concentrate effort in replicating what makes the few schools do better in the low-performing schools.

The academician also expressed worry about the general quality of education. He said the Free SHS is only producing quantity and not quality and ought to be reviewed. 

The learned professor believes that sacrificing quality for quantity is the way to go.

He wants government to involve all stakeholders to relook and rethink the policy in order to make it more sustainable