A board member of the council, Dr Constance Addo-Yobo, administered the Hippocratic oath to the white-robed doctors who have just completed their housemanship at a colourful ceremony at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) in Accra.

Right after taking the oath, which technically ushers them into practice as full-blown medical officers (doctors), the Present King Youth Choir treated the inductees to some songs of praise.

Robed in white coats with their names embossed on them, the newly inducted doctors danced along to the tunes.

Some of the guests, mostly family members and close associates of the inductees, joined in the dancing, amidst the taking of personal videos and pictures with their phones (‘selfies’), during the musical interlude.

Appeal

Dr Addo-Yobo appealed to the inductees not to leave the country in search of greener pastures..

“Do not be tempted to look for greener pastures on other lands as some of your senior colleagues are doing. Let us halt this brain drain. It has taken a taxpayer a lot to invest in your education and so let us all stay in Ghana because nowhere cool,” she said.

She also urged them to accept posting to the districts beyond Accra and Kumasi, stressing that “you will learn a lot there”.

Charge

A Deputy Minister of Health, Mahama Asei Seini, who represented the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, charged the newly inducted doctors to uphold the core values of the profession and contribute to the advancement of health care in the country.

He urged them not to use their new status to violate others’ human rights but rather dedicate their lives to the service of humanity.

The induction ceremony brought together representatives of various health institutions, politicians and health personnel.

Among them were the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka; the Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye; the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, and the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye.

Some of the institutions represented at the ceremony were the Ho Teaching Hospital, the Methodist Church Ghana, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the Tamale Teaching Hospital, the University for Development Studies and the Ghana Academy of Neurosurgeons.

Attitude, conduct

Mr Seini told the inductees that society expected a lot from them and so they would be keenly watched.

“Society expects a high level of professionalism and conduct from you. Often because of specialised knowledge, people are not able to manage themselves properly and this results in a bloated ego which may make one lose his humanity or the capacity to care,” he said.

Support

Mr Seini called for stakeholder engagements to help advance and elevate the medical profession for a better nation.

He added that the government was committed to making sure that Ghanaians nationwide had access to quality health care, adding that the Ministry of health looked forward to working with the newly inducted doctors to make that happen.