The Deputy Minister of Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour has described Family Health University College (FHUC) as one of the private educational institutions in Ghana that stands tall in Africa and the Sub-region, with excellence in promoting ethics and professionalism in medical education.

He said the Institution has raised the bar in critical skills and imbibed in medical students, essential critical morals and social values.

Rev. Ntim Fordjour made this statement during the Family Health University College (FHUC) 2022 matriculation and graduation ceremony for the Family Health Medical School (FHMS) and Family Health Nursing & Midwifery School (FHNMS) respectively, held in Accra.

The two sessions of the matriculation and graduation ceremony of the FHMS and the FHNMS, were held separately due to the large number of students involved, and in accordance with COVID-19 protocols on outdoor gatherings.

Rev. Ntim Fordjour, who was the Special Guest of Honour for the Family Health Medical School’s 2022 matriculation and graduation ceremony noted that the Family Health Medical School’s training of medical doctors contributes significantly in improving doctor-patient ratio which use to stand at one doctor to 9,000 patients but now at one doctor to 6,355 patients, in Ghana.

He added that although the statistics show an improvement in the doctor-patient ratio in the country, the World Bank ranks Ghana 4th in West Africa and 14th in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He also averred that, the government seeks to create an enabling environment that will ensure private sector participation in the training of more medical practitioners for the country to attain the required doctor-patient.

Rev. Ntim Fordjour commended the Founders of FHUC, Prof. Enyonam Yao Kwawukume and Dr. Susu Bridget Kwawukume for their visionary leadership for the healthcare sector, in the training of quality human resource for the country, and making strides in standing tall among its predecessors.

Prof. Kwawukume, admonished the matriculants for the Medical School, to be resolute, studious, take instructions from their lecturers, embrace team-based learning and, above all, strive for success in their medical education and beyond.

To the BSc. Medical Sciences graduands, he congratulated them on their medical education journey so far, and added that he was hopeful that they will have an exciting and impactful clinical year; he encouraged them not to be afraid to make mistakes but to keep working hard, and in teams, and they will come out in flying colours.

The dual ceremony for the Family Health Medical School (FHMS) in the morning had 41 students graduating with BSc in Medical Sciences and 59 freshmen and women comprising Undergraduates and Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) students, matriculating.

For the afternoon session, the Family Health Nursing & Midwifery School’s matriculation and graduation ceremony had 68 Nursing Assistant Clinical (NAC) students graduating, and 257 freshmen and women, comprising of 200 for BSc. Nursing and Midwifery Programme and 57 for NAC programme, also matriculating.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Guest of Honour, Miss Hannah Akua Oparebea Acquah, Rector of the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives, congratulated the newly-qualified Nurse Assistants and encouraged them to further pursue academic laurels in Nursing, as the revered profession was embracing innovation.

She further advised the students to emulate the qualities of an ideal nurse which include: being caring, being empathetic, having good communication skills, and staying relevant in the Nursing profession by keeping abreast with new trends and technologies in the 21st century.

She also welcomed the freshmen and women to the noble profession and advised them to be serious, attentive to detail and embrace mentorship from their predecessors.

To the graduands, Prof. Kwawukume congratulated them on their achievements; he entreated them to sharpen the skills acquired in the classroom and to build exceptional work ethics.

He entreated the graduating nurses to show care and empathy in their professional duties, and to let the values inculcated in them by the School reflect in their actions and inactions.

He also encouraged the matriculants to aim for excellence and be disciplined, analytical and to learn to question knowledge received, in a refined manner.

The Family Health Medical School has since 2020 graduated two batches of medical students with Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degrees; the first batch of 30 students graduated in 2020, whilst the second batch of 54 graduated in 2021. All the graduates have been duly inducted into the medical profession by the Medical and Dental Council.

Additionally, the Nursing and Midwifery School has churned out thousands of nurses since its inception in 2009.