22 Oct 2023

Graduating medical and dental doctors have been beseeched to strive for the best professional practices and give their patients the best health service rivalling any international standards.

Ministry of Health permanent secretary, Prof. Oatlhokwa Nkomazana thus encouraged the incoming doctors, urging them to build a health system that every Motswana desired.

She was speaking during a Medical and Dental Doctors graduation dinner organised by Botswana Doctors Union in Gaborone on Friday,

She said they were trained to help address the challenges that continued to plague the country’s health system, adding that the demand for doctors remained huge in Botswana’s healthcare system.

She therefore urged them ‘to be a class set apart, to do what needs to be done and the way it is to be done’, emphasising professionalism in all aspects.

Prof. Nkomazana further said the sacrifices made while studying should be refocused and translated into work for every Motswana to enjoy their benefit.

Sharing the sentiments, deputy permanent secretary  -  Health Management, Dr Tshepo Machacha urged doctor graduates to be an inspiration and improve the quality of life around them.

He further said they should bring essential and unique qualities to the society.

Ms Tebogo Mogotsi from DPSM preached service delivery to graduates. She said the medical cadre was one of the important sectors  to take Botswana to a high income status.

She welcomed them into the world of work and urged them to learn from their senior counterparts.

Dean of Medicine at University of Botswana (UB), Prof. Tiny Masupe urged the graduates to stand out.

Prof Masupe said the success of  their career and life was dependent on hard work, giving back to their communities and taking their career as entrepreneurship that needed to grow more wealth for success.

She encouraged them to be critical thinkers, who demonstrated their ingenuity and offered fresh ideas and energy to all efforts.

Botswana Doctors Union (BDU) secretary general, Dr Charles Muyela said the union recognised the great milestonefor the additional services to be provided to the community at large as well as for the individual doctors in their professional career.

Dr Muyela said as such BDU decided to host an annual tradition in the form of a dinner to celebrate the doctors great milestone, and welcoming them into the Union.

He said BDU existed to improve the lives of medical personnel.

The graduation consisted of 59 Medical students from UB Faculty of Medicine, two Dental and 19 Medical students from outside of the country, but starting internship in Botswana

There were also 16 postgraduate doctors graduating to be specialists from the University of Botswana. The graduation was held in collaboration with FNBB as the main sponsor for the graduation dinner. ENDS