The Accra College of Medicine (ACM) at the weekend graduated six students in Doctor of Medicine with a call on the students to impact society positively with the knowledge acquired to improve health care delivery.
The ceremony was the first congregation after five years of study since its inception in 2015.
The President of ACM, Prof. Afua A.J Hesse admonished the students not to settle on mediocrity when they could be excellent and not to compromise on their principles of the profession.
She said “Compromising on principles is not a good way and is never a way. Start lean and mean but multitasking with gradual expansion in mind. Find a meaningful way to serve your community and take active steps to achieve your dreams. You need to soar higher, do much more than any of us have been able to do and share your experiences with those behind you.”
Prof. Hesse added, “If you want to be doctors, you should know that there are avenues and opportunities in Ghana. You don’t have to go abroad because there are ways of having your education in Ghana which will benefit you most because the training matches with the international level.”
She appealed to Government to help more qualified students with scholarships noting that, the Public institutions can only take a small number of students.
“There are lots of students who qualify but cannot enter medical school. The government should assist the private educational institutions in terms of support for the resources in the library, infrastructure and teaching materials. If we can have such interventions on all these, it will help the private institutions.”
The Chancellor of ACM, Mrs Mary Chinery-Hesse encouraged the graduates to accept to serve even in the rural and deprived areas and not to be influenced with money.
She said, “I hope you will accept to work at the rural and deprived areas where you will have to make sacrifices, as you seek to ease pain, misery and suffering, in a spirit of altruism and empathy. As doctors, be wary of the corrupting influence of money. I strongly advise that you should not fall into the temptation of wanting to get rich quickly as has become common with a lot of our youth and leaders.”
Abdul Ganiyu Haruna won nine laurels, including the best student, best preclinical student, the best student in children’s health, whilst Morenike Olukemi Makafui won the best female student accolade.
Evavera Akuyoo Tetteyfio won the overall best student in community health, Godfred Gyimah won the Ken and Angela Ofori-Attah’s prize for the overall student in leadership and the MDS-Lancet laboratories Ghana Limited prize for overall best student in Anaesthesia, Faith Lovelyn Isu received the best-improved student and Ebenezer Jectey Darko was awarded as the best student in Ethics and Professionalism.
