The administration of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital in Ondo State announced that it had started to provide study loans to its medical students.
It was learned that the loans were intended for students who are in their last year and had trouble paying their tuition.
At a luncheon held to honour the completion of medical training and examination by the institution’s pioneer medical students, Dr. Oluwole Ige, the teaching hospital’s chief medical director, revealed this.
As pioneer students, no fewer than 34 medical students would graduate from the teaching hospital.
The CMD said, “The institution conceived the study loan facility for the final year medical students of the University of Medical Sciences and the UNIMEDTH. Both institutions designed and formalised student loan bond scheme for final year graduating medical students having challenges or difficulties with the payment of their tuition fees at the stage of writing their final year medical professional examinations to make their dreams become reality.
“The students loan bond scheme was initiated by the teaching hospital management in such a way to eliminate financial barriers which might exclude any final year medical students with outstanding fees not to graduate as a medical doctor.”
He further explained, “The facility is structured in such a way that any student that benefits from the scheme shall be encouraged to do his or her one year housemanship, a post-graduation supervised clinical training programme with UNIMED Teaching Hospital. While in the course of the house job the value of the outstanding fee shall be deducted in piece meal from the monthly allowance granted those in training.”
The head of UNIMEDTH emphasised that the teaching hospital has produced graduate nurses, physiotherapists, and medical laboratory scientists among others in keeping with its role as a teaching hospital and pledged to prioritise the welfare of the newly licenced physicians.
“The institution has also successfully trained medical consultants in several fields of medicine and surgery. The teaching hospital has also provided platform for training of health personnel for FUTA Medical School, Achievers University, Elizade University and JABU,” Ige stated.
Professor Adesegun Fatusi, Vice Chancellor of UNIMED, urged the audience to be good representatives of the institution and to never stop studying. He urged them to take advantage of the chance to train as specialists offered by the teaching hospital.
