FINAL PRESS RELEASE OF THE ELEVENTH SESSION OF THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR MEDICAL, PHARMACEUTICAL AND ODONTOSTOMATOLOGICAL TRAINING IN CAMEROON (NCMPOT)

On Tuesday June 20, 2023 as from 10.00am, was held, in the conference room of the National Center for the Supervision of the lnteruniversity Network of Cameroon and the University Digital Development Center, the 11 th session of the National Commission for Medical, Pharmaceutical and Odontostomatology Training in Cameroon (NCMPOT) chaired by the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education. Created by Order No. 055/PM of June 10, 2013 of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, this Commission is essentially responsible for issuing technical opinions on the quality of training for health professionals in public and private universities in Cameroon, in order to consolidate the academic, technological and professional quality in medical training structures.
ln attendance at this working session were: the Representative of the Minister of Public Health, Vice-Chairperson of the Commission, the Rector of the University of Yaoundé 1, the Representative of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buea, Representatives of the partner administrations, Deans of the Faculties of Medicine and approved Private Institutes of Medicine, the Presidents of the National Orders of Health Professionals (Doctors, Pharmacists and Dental Surgeons).
After adopting the report of the 10″ session, which took place on May 24, 2022 and the results of the national examinations of the 2022 session which took place overall in an atmosphere of cairn and serenity, the following resolutions, resulting from the fruitful debates on the items on the agenda, were adopted.Resolution N°1: the Commission welcomes the level of implementation of the recommendations that sanctioned the 10h session and invites all stakeholders to further combine their efforts and pool their intelligence, with a view to aligning Cameroon’s medical training establishments with international standards of quality assurance.
Resolution N°2: Given the visible and remarkable efforts made by the Government of the Republic in the training of health professionals (doctors, pharmacists and dental surgeons) in particular through the Support Program for the Technological and Professional Component (PRO-ACTP) and considering the need to strengthen the employability of graduates in order to respond effectively tothe legitimate and growing aspirations of populations for better medical care, the Commission recommends that the Ministry of Public Health proceeds with an assessment of the absorption capacity of graduates from medical training establishments in Cameroon.
Resolution N°3: The Commission mandates the ad-hoc commission which assessed medical training establishments in 2012 to carry out an endogenous qualitative assessment of medical training since the reform, before any initiative aimed not only at increasing the number of open places for the National Aptitude Examination for Medical Training, but also and above all, to accredit new establishments or new training programs.
Resolution N°4: The Commission invites medical training establishments to systematically develop procedural manuals, in order to protect themselves against any administrative and academic malfunctions likely to affect the training of health professionals.
Resolution N5: With a view to the efficient implementation of the high instructions of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, the Commission asks all the heads of medical training establishments to take all necessary measures, with a view to the systematic delivery of end of course diplomas to graduating students.
Resolution N°6: The Commission reiterates its desire to see the MINESUP-MINSANTE platform reactivated, under the supervision of the two Ministers, in order to address all the concerns raised by the two ministerial departments concerning both training and professional practice. ln particular, this platform has been given a mandate to take all the necessary measures to ensure the adequacy between the place of practice of the profession of doctor and that of the University teacher.
Resolution N°7: the Commission decided to set up a working group responsible for examining the methods of operationalizing the high instructions of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, regarding the opening of an emergency medicine specialty in the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Yaounde 1.
At the end of the working session, the Minister of State, Minister of Higher Education,
President of the Commission, thanked a articipants for the friendly atmosphere and the spirit of scientific rigor which prevailed throughout the meeting.