The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has announced plans to launch a groundbreaking initiative, the Special Intervention in Medical Simulation and Innovation, as part of its 2025 Intervention strategy.
This innovative programme aims to revolutionise medical education and training in Nigeria by providing state-of-the-art simulation facilities and promoting cutting-edge research in medical innovation.
By doing so, the Arc. Sonny Echono-led intervention agency seeks to enhance the quality of medical education, improve healthcare outcomes, and position Nigeria as a hub for medical excellence in Africa.
Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, Aminu Bello Masari, said the move, which is part of the Fund’s commitment to support the government’s efforts to transform Nigeria’s healthcare system, would among other things, address patient safety and quality of care.
Speaking while inaugurating the Adhoc Committee on Medical Simulation and Innovation Special Intervention at the Fund’s headquarters in Abuja, the BoT Chairman emphasised the importance of medical training and research, describing them as critical to the sustenance of any society.
“Accordingly, considering the state of our public healthcare system, investment in healthcare innovation is urgently needed in Nigeria’s healthcare system to leapfrog to world-class medical practice.
“Thus, two areas of healthcare innovation would make the biggest impact, namely medical simulation and digital health (telemedicine and remote patient care). Investment in these two critical areas of medical innovation simultaneously is essential for maximum benefits.
“Simulation-based learning is a state-of-the-art approach to the education and training of healthcare personnel across all fields of medicine. It offers a unique opportunity to create realistic scenarios where healthcare professionals can practice their skills in a safe and controlled environment.
“Common medical situations or scenarios can also be simulated to increase proficiency and patient safety. The ultimate goals are to enhance critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities, thereby improving patient safety, reducing medical errors, and saving lives,” he said.
Speaking on the benefits of medical simulation, he said it would address patient safety and quality of care, reduce unsafe practices that can lead to serious morbidities and/or mortality, and save costs of healthcare by reducing medical errors which can be very costly as well as reduce preventable medical errors.
He further noted that medical simulation would “address manpower shortage in Nigeria with a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:9083 by upscaling healthcare workers (WHO recommends a 1:600 ratio).
“Digital healthcare (Telemedicine and remote patient care) would significantly improve access to medical care by Nigerians using digital platforms that allow medical practitioners to examine and treat patients at any distance.
“Improvements in wifi technology and data penetration would enable these efforts. Patients in remote areas and small cities can be reviewed by experienced medical experts from anywhere in Nigeria, and in fact, the entire world,” he stated.
Other benefits include: AI-enabled technology would further enhance telemedicine platforms, especially in the areas of interpretation of medical diagnostics, procedures and surgeries.
The panel is chaired by world-renowned neurosurgeon, Prof. Wale Sulaiman, while other members include Prof. Enoch Uche, Dr. Kabir Mustapha, Prof. Hadiza Shehu Galandanci, Dr. Lawrence Eziashi Appah, Prof. Babagana Bako, and Dr. Femi Owagbemi as Secretary.
Masari stated that the panel has eight weeks to submit its report, pointing out that members of the Committee were carefully selected based on their individual capacities as professionals who will work collectively as a team to deliver on the task.
Terms of Reference for the Committee are: To conduct a gap analysis of medical simulation in Nigeria; conduct a gap analysis in healthcare innovation in Nigeria, especially around telemedicine, virtual patient care and remote patient monitoring; analyse identified gaps and prepare a proposal on how to bridge identified gaps in medical simulation and telemedicine; improve medical education, training and patient care based on identified community needs and population health statistics using medical simulation and innovation.
Others are improve patient outcomes based on objective metrics using medical simulation and innovation; propose a funding strategy for medical simulation and innovation by TETFund; propose a long-term sustainable funding mechanism for medical simulation and innovation including (but not limited) industry partnerships, NGOs, and private investments as well as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for funded projects.
The BoT Chairman also announced that the Fund is sponsoring the provision of four central multi-purpose laboratories in University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano, University of Port Harcourt and University of Abuja, under its 2023 and 2024 interventions.
He said the laboratories are part of the key research facilities needed to promote the creation of an enabling environment to enhance impactful and innovative research outputs.
According to him, the facilities would also reduce the need for researchers to visit overseas institutions for bench-work and other critical research activities.
He further disclosed that the agency is sponsoring the upgrade of equipment in laboratories and workshops for 18 universities and 30 Polytechnics/Colleges of Education, Technical, under the 2024 intervention.
He explained that the move is part of its efforts towards enhancing research facilities and infrastructure in its beneficiary institutions.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Echono, said effort was being made to improve the enrollment of staff in medical faculties, adding that the simulation technology will assist regulatory institutions in the Medical and Dental Council to increase the quota of each institution for more intakes.
“Medicine and Health Sciences remain the single most sought out programmes by students based on JAMB records in our tertiary institutions and currently less than seven per cent of those who qualify get admitted because of this constraint,” Echono said.
On his part, the Chairman of the committee, Suleiman, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, expressed gratitude for their appointment and pledged to deliver on the assignment.
