Enugu State government has trained scores of medical practitioners, including young doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in Health Management and Leadership at the University of Washington, United States.
The training aligns with Governor Peter Mbah administration’s policy of revamping the health sector and making the state a medical tourism hub.
Describing the exercise and the experience gathered from the in-depth training as a stepping stone towards achieving a significant milestone in guaranteeing quality healthcare delivery, the beneficiaries of the training appreciated the governor for his unwavering commitment to the health sector, pledging that the training would boost the quality of their outputs.
While receiving the first batch of the trained physicians and healthcare workers who underwent a three-month intensive training on health management and leadership in the United States on Wednesday at the Enugu State Government House, the governor disclosed that the healthcare system in the state remained a top priority of the administration.
Governor Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof Chidiebere Onyia, stressed that his administration, from the inception of the government, set clear guidelines on the shape the state would take within the eight years to ensure that established institutions would remain irreversible through capacity building and establishments that would outlive leaders.
He said the training of the health personnel reflected his government’s determination to provide cross-generational capacity support that would enable the younger generation to understand and appreciate the concept of leadership and complement and support their efforts in driving the emerging demands of the future.
‘’We are changing the landscape, setting something in motion, and ensuring that management is not stalling and maintaining the status quo but integrating the things that will catalyse the transformative process. We are looking forward to investments that will yield a return, and the return is in the way you treat other people and lead our institutions. We need a change in the feedback from those who come into our health facilities and not the ones you get among yourselves.
‘’We are holding all of you to very high standards. We would hold you accountable for the investment because our government operates on traceability, transparency and accountability. We want to see you do that in your behaviour and how you do things. Don’t forget that the state looks at you as our flagship group that attended the University of Washington training and management in the health sector,’ Mbah said.
Earlier in his remark, the special adviser to the governor on Health Matters, Dr Yomi Jaye, said that the programme was part of the governor’s plan to increase the capacity building of the state’s health system. He added that Washington University had duly certified the trainees on leadership and management in the health sector.
According to him, the trainees, who were drawn from the state’s colleges of nursing, college of medicine, and other health institutions in the state, including young doctors and nurses, embarked on hands-on group discussions, practical sessions, project submissions, and other comprehensive programmes throughout their stay in the United States.
‘’It is important to know that building structures and building facilities are not enough; that is why the governor is so pragmatic in his approach to say that capacity building is one of the aspects of what he is doing in the state. This programme will go a long way in changing the mindset of our teachers in the schools because the product we are going to be having is dependent on the quality of what we have inside us.
“The people that are going to be training the healthcare givers in our health institutions need a massive mindset change, and that was why we decided to enrol this set of people in a three months thorough course in leadership and management in health professional development. We are beginning to see changes in how they treat the people and teach in classes because they have gathered a lot of experiences in healthcare management and leadership,’ he said.
Prof. Uchenna Ekwochi, the Provost of Enugu State College of Medicine, who was also one of the participants, described the training as one which has affected their thinking and the manner in which they do their jobs in their profession, narrating that the exercise was an eye-opener that had exposed them to innovative strategies and styles of leadership which would be cascaded to their students and colleagues.
‘’It is my pleasure to thank the state government under Governor Peter Mbah for approving and funding this programme. We learnt a lot. This training has afforded us an opportunity to obtain a foreign certificate. It is truly beyond the certificate but has so impacted our leadership style. With this training, the public should expect innovations and transformation, a different and better order from how things were done. What this training has deposited in our lives as leaders will go beyond what we are going to do in our different facilities, enabling the world to know that there was once a time when leaders were sent for such training,’’ the provost added.
Expressing delight, Akpa Chinaza, who was issued a certificate of commendation by the university for her excellent work as the Site Coordinator for the course, said the training exposed them to some key issues, including emotional intelligence and how to lead without authority when dealing with people of diverse backgrounds.
According to her, ‘’Individually, we wouldn’t have afforded the cost of the training because of the dollar rate and the huge capital required to fund the life-changing training, but the state did it for us through the intervention of Governor Peter Mbah. Anyone who participated in this training can take up any position in health and lead well.’’
Addressing the press, the council Chairman of Nkanu West local government, Chief John Ogbodo, who witnessed the event, expressed gratitude over what the state had done, saying that the training would soon begin to impact the lives of the people across the state.
He commended the governor for his visionary leadership in turning the state around and making it a premier destination for businesses, health tourism, investment, and good living.
‘’I want to thank our dear governor for this wonderful opportunity he gives our people. I am privileged to witness the certificate presentation and glad our people reached this level. What I have seen and heard here today will go a long way in impacting other people, especially in managing the 260 type-2 primary healthcare across the state,’’ he further stressed.
