The Medical and Dental Council of Ghana (MDC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Physicians and Surgeons Foundation of North America (GPSF).

The MoU was signed at the 19th Annual GPSF Conference that was held in Washington DC.

It was signed by the Registrar of the MDC, Dr Divine Ndonbi Banyubala and the President of GPSF, Dr Bertha Serwa Ayi.

The MoU brings to fruition many years of discussions between previous GPSF executives and the MDC regarding the bottleneck created by the credentialing and licensing process for US-based Ghanaian physicians as well as other physicians with a vested interest in the post-graduate medical education in Ghana.

The MoU will expedite the process and reduce the cost by 50 per cent.

Another provision is a waiver of examination in certain special situations for select US-based physicians.

This expedited process will be provided through membership with GPSF.

In addition, it will help to address GPSF’s founding mandate to provide educational and faculty support to the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Present at the signing was the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie.

The Ranking Member of the same committee, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, was also present.

Dr Afriyie gave his support to the MoU and emphasised the importance of having all stakeholders at the table in such important decisions.

He endorsed the plan and vouched to ensure its smooth implementation.

The Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr Richard Adanu, was also present for the signing and emphasised this key step in improving access for US-based physicians to fill key roles in training and education at the College.

The President of GPSF thanked the MDC and the College for making this long-term goal a reality.