Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Adesoji Ademuyiwa, says there is urgent need to groom the next generation of surgeons.
Ademuyiwa made the call in Lagos at a Surgical Interest Group Lagos (SURGIL) conference 2024 on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the conference was “From Classroom to O. R. Nurturing the Next Generation of Surgeons”.
Ademuyiwa, also a Professor of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Lagos (UNILAG), said it was critical for the current generation to grow the next generation of surgeons.
He said this would ensure proper grooming and acquisition of the he necessary knowledge needed to perform surgery.
The surgeon advised upcoming surgeons to work toward acquiring a mentor early, who would train and build them up.
He also stressed the need for younger surgeons to network among themselves and senior surgeons, as well as give their best to the profession.
“It’s very rewarding to be a surgeon and to be able to help people with lump.
“I am a pediatric surgeon and I see the gratitude on the faces of parents of children that I operate on which is more than money.
“So, I want them to really acquire the ethics of the profession as well and give their best to it,” he said.
Earlier, President of SURGIL, Dr Foluso Akinwande, said the essence of the conference was to create a platform for medical students and early career doctors, who are interested or considering a future in surgery.
Akinwande advised the young doctors to listen to leading experts all over the world, who would speak about their journey in surgery and to begin to instill passion about the specialty.
He said that SURGIL as a whole, since 2020, had organised events that had generated and instilled passion among young surgeons.
He added that the association had membership strength of no fewer than 90 students across 15 medical schools in Nigeria.
“As we move forward in the medical profession, surgery is at the very core of curative medicine and the future of tomorrow are the current young ones here,” he said. (NAN)
