How To Become A Medical Doctor In Nigeria

What do you need to become a Medical Doctor in Nigeria? Arguably the most competitive course to study in Nigeria today, Medicine and Surgery as it is called is “hot cake” in Nigerian Universities. There are several Nigerian Universities offering this course of study. These consist of both private and public universities. For the public universities, they are made up of both the state and the federal universities.

Nigeria has come along way in the field of medicine with its universities churning out medical doctors. These Doctors has gone on to make lasting contributions to this field both within and outside the country.

Requirements Needed to Become a Medical Doctor in Nigeria

To qualify as a medical doctor in Nigeria, there are certain academic requirements that must be met. Hence, to realize your dream as a medical doctor, the journey commences right from senior secondary school. You cannot be in the social science or art classes while nursing an ambition of becoming a doctor. You have to be at the right place, in this case, a natural science class where subjects as Biology, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and English form the core subject areas.

Performing creditably well in the above subject areas will qualify you to study medicine and surgery in the University.

Admission into Medicine and Surgery

Scoring a minimum of 5 credits in core science subject areas including English and Mathematics is the benchmark for admission into most science courses especially medicine. However, this in itself is not enough as you will have to write the JAMB (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board) exams and score high enough to make the cut-off mark of most Universities offering this discipline. There is however no unified JAMB cut-off mark for all the universities in Nigeria. Most universities have their varying cut-off marks for this course.

Undergoing a post-JAMB test/exam is necessary. This is organized by the universities as a screening measure to ensure only deserving students are admitted.

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Scoring High

To get admitted, it is necessary that your JAMB score should be high. in most cases, the benchmark is usually 180. However, scoring above this, preferably 200 and above will increase your chances of being admitted.

Alternative Ways of Gaining Admission

In the event you did not perform well in one or more of the core subjects needed for admission, all hope is not lost as there is a remedial program offered by most Nigerian universities. As the name suggests, this program which runs for one academic year seeks to remedy the deficiency in the weak areas. Applying for this remedial program is a necessity for admission.

After getting admitted, all the core courses necessary for admission, including the deficient subject/subjects are covered to enable you remedy the problem. You will have to sit for exams at the end of the two semesters. The second semester exam carries the heaviest credit load. How well you perform in your remedial program will determine if you will get admitted into medicine or not.

Don’t Go For the Wrong Reasons

Because of the prestige attached to becoming a medical doctor in Nigeria, a of people want to study this course not because of the passion, but due to either peer pressure or the prestige attached to it. This pitfall should be avoided. Studying medicine requires an innate drive and passion. Without these, it is likely that you might turn out to be either a quack doctor or a mediocre. In times when difficult challenges present themselves, the inborn passion and drive will sustain you.

Duration of Study

The length of time taken to become qualified as a doctor is usually significant. In Nigeria, you will have to spend 6 years in training. during the 6 year training, you will be faced with heavy workloads that might overwhelm you if you are not determined. Such grueling academic tasks train you to become dependable and provides the much needed skill and experience needed for optimal performance.

Discipline and Patience as Watchword

To become  a doctor in Nigeria, these are two ingredients that are necessary. Being disciplined is a basic requirement. Also, patience will will see you through your years of study. Without these attributes, you are likely to fall give up as the course is naturally tasking and takes a longer time to complete.

There you have it! The “how” of becoming a doctor in Nigeria has been answered. Following the information provided in this article, you will be able to accomplish your dreams.