NiCAMSA seeks MDCN regulation, five-year degree programme for alternative medicine

The Nigerian Complementary and Alternative Medicine Students’ Association (NiCAMSA) has urged the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to regulate alternative medicine education and practice.

The Association made the call in a position paper submitted to MDCN, seeking uniform standards for education, clinical training, registration and professional practice.

Speaking with journalists on Monday in Akure, NiCAMSA President, Ayuba Yusuf, said effective regulation was necessary to guarantee competent practitioners and protect patients.

“Our principal concern is to ensure that students graduate as adequately educated, clinically competent and ethically accountable professionals prepared for safe practice,” Yusuf said.

He said the Association’s position followed MDCN’s recent inclusion of a representative of alternative medicine practitioners on its governing board.

Yusuf urged MDCN to work closely with the National Universities Commission (NUC) to harmonise academic and professional standards for university-based complementary and alternative medicine programmes.

According to him, the collaboration should ensure that academic approval and professional regulation develop together rather than as separate processes.

NiCAMSA proposed that NUC’s Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards should provide the academic foundation, while MDCN contributes professional and clinical components.

“We need a framework where academic standards and professional competencies are deliberately aligned from the beginning,” he said.

The Association also called for MDCN participation in accreditation, curriculum review, periodic inspections and quality assurance of universities offering complementary and alternative medicine programmes.

The Association, however, urged MDCN to accredit suitable internship centres, including teaching hospitals, Federal Medical Centres, specialist hospitals and approved integrative medicine facilities.

Yusuf said successful completion of the supervised programme should qualify graduates for a Certificate of Experience and contribute to their pathway toward full registration.