The Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Kwame Adusei Poku has advised that although the patient/doctor ratio in the country is 1:12, the medical doctors trained in the country and outside must pass an oral and written exam before being mandated to practice as fully-fledged doctors. According to him the exams which is organized annually by the Medical and Dental Council is backed by law and aims to protect the public interest and the interest of the doctor in keeping with their motto: “guarding the profession, protecting the public”. In his words, any mismanagement on the side of the doctor is actionable. He also added that there is a need to have a permit from the Medical and Dental Council since any practising doctor without permit can be interrogated for practising illegally. The issue came up following a publication in the dailies that Ghanaian Medical Doctors who study medicine in Russia/Cuba face difficulties practising in Ghana, notwithstanding the conditions under which they practice. In an exclusive interview with Dr. Adusei Poku on Asempa FM, he reiterated that every country has rules and regulations and as such the case in Ghana is not different and that a potential doctor who seeks to practice in Ghana, notwithstanding where he trained, would need to adhere to the various regulations guiding the profession in the country before being recognised as such. “Some of the students go there and learn nothing and as such the need to justify their inclusion” – he said. Story by Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/Asempa 94.7 FM/Ghana