A doctor in dilemma: To dump his residency programme or take up federal parastatal job?
Good day Jarus, I am presently doing my residency programme at a federal teaching hospital to be a consultant medic in the near future. To get a placement as a consultant in Nigeria teaching hospitals is becoming difficult as the years go by, so I’m afraid that after being a consultant it may be difficult for me to get placements. So I have been involved in a recruitment process of a top federal government parastatal as a medical officer that pays double of my salary as a registrar here. I was wondering if I will take this federal parastatal job to secure my future but may not allow me be a consultant or would I continue with the residency programme that will make me a consultant but may not secure financial freedom? Hope your have medical eggheads to make me less confuse. Don’t publish my mail address please
Name withheld
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I passed this to an experienced Medical Doctor in the Jarus Eggheads Team:
I would advise the young doctor to persevere and complete his residency training. It is the highest level of professional training in medical practice. I know of a number of colleagues who worked in the public health sector and after many years returned to do the residency training. Better do it now – postpone your gratification. By the way, in what specialty is the gentleman involved? And who said, as a consultant physician or surgeon, you have to work in a teaching hospital? You can work with WHO (who pays an entry level doctor more than a professor or consultant doctor earns), UNICEF, World Bank (a doctor friend of mine just interviewed for a WB job), health-realted NGOs, USAID, CDC, Federal Ministry of Health, state ministries etc And, private practice is now very lucrative especially if you have something different to offer. A former classmate of mine involved in medical diagnostics earns more than any of us and even employs some very consultants that taught us in school. But for us, some people have to stay behind to bring up the next generation of doctors and carry out research.
Yes oooo…
I love the last line of this response: “But for us, some people have to stay behind to bring up the next generation of doctors and carry out research”
Some of us we have to write books, design new algorithms, train new heads of ITpreneurs and inventors, bring out the creativity in next generation of Zuckerbergs, research!!
I honestly concur with Dr Shakir’s reaction. A lot of doctors find themselves in this dilemma not just because of the financial gain but even the politics involved in “this day” residency programme, not to talk about the outcome of the programme on the livelihood of present day consultants. My candid advise to him is to make his own choice according to the inputs he feels he can put into the practice and not about the financial gain only. Depending on his field and how far he has gone in training, as well as the inputs he has made so far, he should be able to find his “square root” in the residency programme. Working in a Federal government parastatal on the other side is not a bad idea too. He can grow to any level unlike how it used to be. But he should be very careful not to make his decision only based on the financial gain. We still need doctors to train doctors, but some of us belief we can be more meaningful out there.