FGMSA calls for review of MDC's Common Registration Examination

The Federation of Ghana Medical Students’ Associations (FGMSA) has called for a review of the Medical and Dental Council’s (MDC) Common Registration Examination (CRE) for locally trained medical and dental graduates.

The Federation, which represents more than 6,000 medical and dental students across Ghana, said it was not opposed to maintaining high professional standards but questioned the need for graduates to undergo another examination after completing final qualifying assessments at their respective institutions.

FGMSA President and Chief Spokesperson Samuel A. Issifu said the Federation’s concern was about what it considers duplication in the assessment process.

“Our concern is not with standards. It is with duplication,” he said.

In a statement issued on October 1, the Federation asked what additional competency the CRE was intended to establish if final qualifying examinations could be nationally harmonised, standardised and effectively supervised by the MDC.

FGMSA said Ghana must ensure that every doctor and dentist entering professional practice meets the required national standards, regardless of the institution from which they graduated.

It argued that where differences exist in the quality or rigour of final examinations across medical and dental schools, the focus should be on addressing those differences through stronger regulatory oversight.

The Federation proposed common national competency standards and examination blueprints, harmonised final examinations, standardised Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) structures and scoring, examiner training, stronger external moderation and greater MDC participation in final assessments.

It described the approach as “quality assurance at its source”.

FGMSA also welcomed ongoing efforts by the MDC to harmonise institutional final examinations and called for those efforts to be strengthened.

Issifu said the Federation was not seeking an easier route into the medical or dental profession.

“We are not asking Ghana to assess its future doctors and dentists less rigorously. We are asking Ghana to assess them more coherently,” he said.

The Federation also raised concerns about the academic, financial and welfare implications of requiring graduates to sit another high-stakes examination after completing their final qualifying assessments.

It said the concerns would remain even if the CRE were administered at no cost, arguing that the key issue was the additional regulatory value of a separate examination.

FGMSA further called for greater stakeholder engagement on the implementation of the CRE.

According to the Federation, it had previously written to the MDC seeking an opportunity to present its concerns and proposals but had not received the audience it sought at the time of its October 1 statement.

It said meaningful consultation should allow affected students to present their views, receive answers to their concerns and understand how changes to the registration process would be implemented.

The Federation said it would continue engaging relevant state institutions, professional bodies and other stakeholders on the matter.

According to Issifu, the objective was to ensure rigorous and consistent professional standards without unnecessarily duplicating assessments.

FGMSA said it remained open to discussions with the MDC and other stakeholders on a framework that would protect professional standards while addressing the concerns of medical and dental students.

“We are not asking Ghana to choose between high standards and its students. We are asking Ghana to build a system capable of upholding both,” the Federation said.