Education
Prof. Oladapo Obafunwa, Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), has called for stronger institutional pathways to train and retain physician-scientists in Nigeria.
Obafunwa made the call while delivering the inaugural convocation lecture of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) on Thursday in Lagos.
The lecture focused on the intersection of medicine, law, research and ethics in healthcare delivery, postgraduate medical education and research governance.
Obafunwa said stronger collaboration among medicine, law and ethics was essential to strengthening healthcare delivery, research governance and public trust.
He said the three areas were important pillars of a modern health system and essential to safeguarding patients while ensuring quality healthcare delivery.
According to him, aligning medical service delivery, postgraduate medical training, legal accountability and ethical governance was critical to sustaining public trust.
Obafunwa said NPMCN played a central role in training specialists who combined service delivery, teaching and research responsibilities.
“This triple mandate has direct implications for how care is organised, how future clinicians are educated, and how ethical and legal standards are upheld in day-to-day practice,” he said.
The NIMR director-general identified the underdevelopment of the physician-scientist pipeline as a major challenge to research and innovation in Nigeria.
He attributed the challenge to heavy clinical workloads, inadequate funding, limited career incentives, administrative and regulatory bottlenecks, brain drain and organisational structures.
Obafunwa advocated protected research time within clinical schedules, formal physician-scientist tracks and joint appointments between universities and NIMR.
He also called for opportunities for consultant research fellows to maintain links with hospitals while continuing to practise in their specialties.
He urged NPMCN to establish physician-scientist tracks within postgraduate medical education to develop research and leadership skills among specialists.
According to him, the curriculum should integrate clinical and specialty training with translational research, biostatistics and ethical governance.
He also advocated extended protected research periods during residency and fellowship, as well as mentorship programmes aligned with national health priorities.
Obafunwa outlined six areas for developing physician-scientists: institutional strategy, training and mentorship, funding and incentives, governance and compliance, collaboration and operational impact.
He called for integrated programmes combining clinical training with intensive research, including joint MBBS-PhD pathways and dedicated research tracks within residency and fellowship programmes.
He also advocated formal mentorship networks linking junior trainees with senior clinician-scientists and ethicists.
The don said stronger funding for medical research was necessary, particularly amid current economic pressures.
He urged NIMR, universities, national health agencies and international partners to strengthen collaboration and share mentorship, datasets and training resources.
Obafunwa also called for streamlined ethics approval processes to facilitate responsible research and recommended a cross-disciplinary ethics, law and policy research task force.
He said pilot physician-scientist programmes should be established in medical schools and postgraduate colleges.
He also recommended reviews of consent procedures, data security policies and governance frameworks.
“As the director-general of NIMR, and with the support of my few medically qualified colleagues in the institution, we are fully committed to leading these reforms,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President of NPMCN, Prof. Anthony Ikefuna, said the College was strengthening postgraduate medical education through digital technology, quality assurance and expanded training programmes.
Ikefuna said the College had commenced bimonthly online lectures to enhance visibility, promote professional development and facilitate collaboration among Fellows across specialties.
He said the College was also encouraging Fellows to cite NPMCN alongside their training centres as affiliation addresses in scholarly publications.
According to him, sustained citation of the College would enhance its standing in academic rankings and increase its publication output.
Ikefuna said the College had implemented quality assurance processes in its March, April and May 2026 examinations.
He said the measures were designed to ensure transparency, fairness and compliance with established standards.
The NPMCN president said evidence-based standard-setting methods were being used to determine examination cut scores in line with international best practices.
Ikefuna said the College had applied to establish a Doctor of Philosophy programme, following approval by the National Universities Commission.
He said the proposed PhD programme would run as a pre-Fellowship programme alongside the existing Doctor of Medicine programme.
HeIkefuna said about 473 candidates had received the Doctor of Medicine degree since its introduction in 2020.
He said more than 55 recipients would receive the degree at the 2026 convocation.
He said the College was also working toward integrating digital education into postgraduate training through competency-based work-based assessment, electronic portfolios and telemedicine.
According to him, the initiative would enable real-time documentation, assessment and feedback on residents’ performance.
He said the College was moving away from traditional logbooks towards objective work-based assessment to strengthen clinical competence and independence.
Ikefuna said such competence would also enable specialists to critically evaluate information generated by artificial intelligence, particularly because of the possibility of algorithmic bias.
He identified funding of Fellowship examinations as a major challenge facing the College.
According to him, rising costs of logistics, examination materials, examiners’ allowances, simulators, information technology, accommodation and transportation had placed pressure on the College’s finances.
Ikefuna appealed to the Federal Government to support funding of Fellowship examinations, particularly with the implementation of new Duty Tour Allowance rates from Oct. 1, 2026.
He also called for support for clinical skills and simulation laboratories at the College and designated centres in Kano, Enugu and Abuja.
He said simulation facilities would improve skill acquisition, competency assessment and clinical decision-making among trainees.
The president said the College would continue collaborations with institutions and qualified Nigerian specialists in the diaspora to strengthen postgraduate medical training.
He disclosed that the College had engaged the African Medical Centre of Excellence to expand access to specialised training.
According to him, the training would include radiation and clinical oncology and interventional cardiology.
Ikefuna also announced the establishment of the Faculty of Radiation and Clinical Oncology, the College’s 17th Faculty.
He said the new Faculty, which emerged from the Faculty of Radiology, would provide more specialised postgraduate training in cancer care.
He commended the Faculty of Ophthalmology for acquiring the Eyesi high-fidelity simulation equipment.
He described the equipment as the first of its kind in West Africa.
The president thanked donors who had provided equipment and other support to the College.
He appealed for further assistance with medical books, research journals and an electronic portfolio system.
In his goodwill message, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, congratulated the Governing Board, management, fellows, graduands, staff, parents and NPMCN community.
Pate spoke through Dr Adebisoye Adegoke, Director, Hospital Services, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja.
He commended the College for its contribution to training highly skilled medical specialists needed to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare system.
He urged the graduands to uphold professionalism, integrity, compassion and lifelong learning in their careers.
“Your knowledge and expertise should be deployed in the service of humanity and in support of the Federal Government’s efforts to improve the quality, accessibility, and resilience of healthcare delivery in Nigeria,” he said.
Pate also commended the College leadership and staff for their commitment to excellence in medical education, research and professional development.
He assured the graduands of the ministry’s support and wished them a successful and fulfilling professional journey.
The 44th convocation ceremony featured the conferment of postgraduate qualifications and recognition of Fellows who had completed the College’s training and assessment processes. (NAN)
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Tags: Convocation NIMR NPMCN