Egypt
See also: List of medical schools in Egypt
In Egypt, medical school is a faculty of a university. Medical education lasts for 6 years, at the end of which the student is granted a MB BCh (بكالريوس الطب و الجراحة). After graduating, there is a mandatory 12-month full-time internship at one of the University or Government Teaching hospitals, after which medical licensure as a General Practitioner (GP) is obtained. After that, the doctor has to register with the Ministry of Health, and the Egyptian Medical Syndicate (نقابة الأطباء). The first 3 years of medical school cover the basic medical sciences, while the last 3 years are focused on clinical sciences.
Admission depends on the score of the applicant in his last 2 years of Egyptian Secondary Schoolالثانوية) العامة). Students having taken either the IGCSE or the SAT can also apply, however there is a very strict quota to the number of students that get accepted by the admission office, which regulates entry into public universities. This quota does not apply to private universities. There are no entrance exams required for entry.
[edit]Ghana
There are four medical schools in Ghana: The University of Ghana Medical School in Accra, the KNUST School of Medical Sciences in Kumasi, the University of Cape Coast Medical School and University for Development Studies School of Medicine in Tamale.
Basic Medical education lasts 6 years in all the medical schools. Entry into these medical schools are highly competitive and it is usually based on successful completion of the Senior High School Examinations. The University of Ghana Medical School has however introduced a graduate entry medical program to admit students with mainly science - related degrees into a 4 year medical school program.
Students graduating from any of these medical schools get the MBChB degree and the title "Dr". The University of Ghana and the KNUST offer an additional intercalated degree of BSc.(Medical Science) and BSc.(Human Biology) respectively. Medical graduates are then registered provisionally with the Medical and Dental Council (MDC) of Ghana as House Officers (Interns). Upon completion of the mandatory 2-year housemanship, these medical doctors are permanently registered with the MDC and can practice as medical officers (General Practitioners) anywhere in the country. The housemanship training is done only in hospitals accredited for such purposes by the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana
Following the permanent registration with the medical and dental council, doctors can specialize in any of the various fields that is organized by either the West African college of Physicians and Surgeons or the Ghana College of Physician and Surgeons.
Medical officers are also sometimes hired by the Ghana Health Service to work in the Districts/Rural areas as Primary Care Physicians.
[edit]Kenya
In Kenya, there are four established medical schools:
University of Nairobi (oldest, established 1967)
Moi University in Eldoret (established in 1980s with major support from the Indiana University School of Medicine - USA, and with whom there remain significant ties)
Egerton University in Nakuru (established in 2007)
Kenyatta University at Kahawa (established 2008)
Admissions are considered after completion of a high school education. The first two years are basic science years and the three remaining years clinical. On completion, a bachelors degree in Medicine and Surgery is awarded, MBChB. This is followed by a one-year period of internship.
Both Nairobi and Moi Universities run post graduate medical training programs that run over 3 years and lead to the award of master of medicine, MMed, in the respective specialty.
There has been progress made by the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan and the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Nairobi towards the establishment of a Health Sciences University in Kenya with an associated medical school. AKUH in Nairobi, already offers post graduate, MMed programmes. These are run over 4 years.
Completion of formal specialty training in Kenya is followed by two years of supervised clinical work before one can apply for recognition as a specialist, in their respective field, by the medical board.
[edit]Nigeria
There are several medical schools in this populous nation. Amongst the best are: Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra state,Bayero University Kano,University of Benin, University of Nigeria, University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Lagos State University College of medicine, University of Maiduguri, Obafemi Awolowo College of Health Sciences (Olabisi Onabanjo University- former Ogun State University),University of Port-Harcourt, University of Ilorin, University of Calabar, College of Medicine Enugu State University of science and technology,University of Jos, Ahmadu Bello University and the Niger Delta University Wilberforce Island Amasomma, Bayelsa State. Entrance into these schools is highly competitive. Candidates graduating from high school must attain high grades from the West African Examination Council's (WAEC) Senior School Certificate Exam (SSCE/GCE) and high scores in four subjects (Physics, English, Chemistry, and Biology) in the University Matriculation Examination (UME). Students undergo rigorous training for 6 grueling years and culminate with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS/MBChB). The undergraduate program is six years and one year of work experience in government hospitals. After medical school, graduates are mandated to spend one year of housemanship (internship) and one year of community service before they are eligible for residency.
[edit]South Africa
See also: List of medical schools in South Africa and Healthcare in South Africa
There are eight medical schools in South Africa, each under the auspices of a public university. As the country is a former British colony, most of the institutions follow the British-based undergraduate method of instruction, admitting students directly from high school into a 6 or occasionally five-year program. Some universities such as the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and the University of Cape Town have started offering post-graduate medical degrees that run concurrently with their undergraduate programs. In this instance, a student having completed an appropriate undergraduate degree with basic sciences can enter into a four-year postgraduate program.
Most South African medical schools award the MBChB degree (except the University of the Witwatersrand, which styles its degree MBBCh). Some universities allow students to earn an intercalated degree, completing a BSc (Medical) with an additional year of study after the second year of the MBChB. Following successful completion of study, all South African medical graduates must complete a two-year internship as well as a further year of community service in order to register with the Health Professions Council and practice as a doctor in the country.
Specialisation is usually a five- to seven-year training process (depending on the specialty) requiring registering as a medical registrar attached to an academic clinical department in a large teaching hospital with appropriate examinations. The specialist degree may be conferred as a Fellowship by the independent Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA), following British tradition, or as a Magisterial degree by the University (usually the M Med, Master of Medicine, degree). The Medical schools and the CMSA also offer Higher Diplomas in many fields. Research degrees are the M.Med and Ph.D. or M.D., depending on university.
Medical students from all over the world come to South Africa to gain practical experience in the country's many teaching hospitals and rural clinics. The language of instruction is English but a few indigenous languages are studied briefly.