The Nigerian Complementary and Alternative Medicine Students’ Association has called on the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to introduce comprehensive regulation for the education, clinical training and professional practice of complementary and alternative medicine in Nigeria.
The association’s President, Ayuba Yusuf, made the appeal in Akure, Ondo State, on Monday, shortly after presenting the organisation’s position paper on the proposed regulatory framework to the MDCN.
Yusuf explained that the proposed regulation would provide uniform standards for university-based complementary and alternative medicine programmes, covering academic training, clinical practice, professional registration and ethical conduct.
He stressed that effective regulation was necessary to ensure that students graduating from CAM programmes possessed the appropriate academic knowledge, clinical skills and professional ethics required for safe and responsible practice.
“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 called for stronger collaboration between the MDCN and the National Universities Commission in areas including accreditation, curriculum development, periodic inspection and quality assurance of universities offering complementary and alternative medicine programmes.
Yusuf also proposed the adoption of Bachelor of Complementary and Alternative Medicine as the standard professional degree nomenclature for university-based CAM programmes, saying a uniform title would help establish a clearer professional identity for graduates.
He further urged the MDCN to review the current four-year duration of CAM programmes and extend them to a minimum of five years to allow students to receive more comprehensive academic and clinical training.
According to him, the additional year would provide greater opportunity for practical exposure and help strengthen clinical competence, patient safety, public confidence and the international recognition of Nigerian CAM qualifications.
The association’s president also called for the introduction of compulsory supervised internship or housemanship for graduates before full professional registration, with successful candidates issued certificates of experience upon completion.
Yusuf said such clinical training should expose graduates to different areas of practice, including physical and manual therapy, lifestyle therapy, psychotherapy, environmental and sensory therapy, as well as primary healthcare.
He urged the MDCN to accredit appropriate facilities where students and graduates could receive supervised clinical training, listing teaching hospitals, Federal Medical Centres, specialist hospitals, integrative medicine centres and approved CAM teaching clinics among possible facilities.
The NiCAMSA president also advocated a clearly defined professional registration process that would cover provisional registration, supervised internship, full registration, annual practising licence renewal and continuing professional development.
He said professional conduct requirements and disciplinary procedures should be clearly communicated to students, institutions and practitioners to promote accountability and ethical standards within the profession.
Yusuf further called for Nigerian CAM education to be benchmarked against internationally recognised competency-based programmes, saying this would improve the quality of training and enhance the competitiveness and global acceptance of Nigerian graduates.
He proposed the establishment of a broad-based framework involving the MDCN, NUC, relevant Federal Government ministries, universities, teaching hospitals, professional associations and international organisations to coordinate the development of CAM education and practice.
“We are not merely asking for the expansion of CAM programmes; we are asking for a system that produces competent, accountable and safe practitioners,” he said.
Yusuf assured that NiCAMSA was prepared to contribute constructively to consultations, curriculum development, research, public enlightenment and other initiatives aimed at improving complementary and alternative medicine education and professional practice.
He urged the MDCN to develop and publish a clear implementation roadmap specifying accreditation requirements, clinical training standards, registration procedures, licensing arrangements and continuing professional development requirements for graduates and practitioners.
Yusuf maintained that the continued expansion of university-based complementary and alternative medicine education must be matched with effective regulation, noting that proper oversight would help protect academic standards, improve professional competence, promote ethical practice and safeguard patients.