The University of Medical Science (UNIMED) in Ondo, Ondo State, said the institution will be graduating its first sets of physicians from the institution in record time, saying this is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, disclosed this during a press conference to herald the 5th convocation ceremony of the institution.

He revealed that about 183 medical students of the school, comprising medical practitioners and two sets of dental practitioners will be among the 585 that will be graduating at the university’s convocation ceremony slated for next Thursday.

Fatusi said: “As Nigeria’s first specialised medical and health sciences university, we are proud that we have remained at the forefront of transforming the health professions education landscape in our country.

“This ceremony, wherein the first sets of physicians ever produced on the soil of Ondo State, along with many other highly promising young people, are graduating, is eloquent testimony to that.

“We are not just graduating one set of physicians, but four sets, consisting of two sets of medical practitioners and two sets of dental practitioners. Yet, we are just nine years old as an institution. Never in the history of Nigeria has this ever happened!

“Our first set of medical practitioners had their professional induction by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) on May 23, 2023, while the second set of medical practitioners, along with the first and second sets of dental practitioners, were inducted on December 19, 2023.

“This is a record in Nigeria’s 76-year-old history of university education. In addition, no university in the history of Nigeria has ever produced a set of dentists within its first decade of existence. Thus, UNIMED has set a new record. We have successfully produced our first two sets of dentists within our first nine years of existence.

“Other than Lagos State, no other state university has ever produced a dentist because of the huge resources required for dental training, but UNIMED has now achieved this feat.”

Giving the rundown of the graduating medical students, Fatusi explained that a total of 183 students are graduating from professional programmes with
unclassified degrees.

He stated that there were “96 students from medicine, 12 students from dentistry, and 75 students from physiotherapy. Also, 348 students are graduating from undergraduate programmes with classified degrees, consisting of 19 students with first class (5.5%), 217 students with second class upper division (62.9%), 94 students with second class lower division (27.2%), and 15 students with third class honours (4.3%).

“I am also pleased to report that our university succeeded in all the accreditation exercises that took place last year—both those conducted by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as well as various professional regulatory bodies.

“There is no course in our university today without appropriate approval and accreditation from NUC and relevant regulatory bodies. In addition, we have also been successful in NUC’s resource verification exercises for the establishment of 13 new courses.

“These new courses include Audiology, Biotechnology, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Dental Technology, Dental Therapy, Health Care Administration and Hospital Management, Information Technology and Health Informatics, Medical Physics, Medicinal Chemistry, Occupational Therapy, and Pharmacology.

“Additionally, I am delighted to report that our first cohort of Community Health Science students recorded 100 per cent in their professional examinations last year, even as our Nursing students have maintained their record of 100 per cent in professional examinations.

“In the current academic session that started in October 2023, we admitted our first set of students into the new 6-year Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT) programme. We have also admitted the first set of students into the Transitional Doctor of Physiotherapy programme—the first in Nigeria—which offers an opportunity for the graduates of the old Bachelor of
Physiotherapy programme from any university in West Africa to earn the Doctor of Physiotherapy degree.

“In addition to establishing the first Faculty of Medical Rehabilitation in West Africa, we remain the only university in the West African subregion with four degrees programmes in the medical rehabilitation field—physiotherapy, occupational therapy, prosthetics and orthotics, and audiology.”

Speaking on the newly introduced course, African Herbal Medicine (AHM), Fatusi said, “This is another area in which we are determined to play a key role in West Africa, and we are excited about our working relationships with the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) in that regard. We are intentional about pushing the agenda for the advancement of African herbal medicine (AHM) and the integration of AHM into orthodox medicine.

“We strongly believe that it is time to put an end to the inexcusable neglect of the huge and untapped potential of our God-given heritage, African herbal medicine.

“AHM holds one of the surest keys to unlocking the door for Nigeria and Africa to make great contributions to drug development and health advancement on the global stage.”