Medical practitioners have been tasked to up efforts in research to come out with appropriate knowledge, skills and technology to help address the numerous health challenges facing the country.

Professor Baafour Opoku, Medical Director of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, said medical practitioners needed also to sharpen their skills and broaden their horizon so as to be able to deal effectively with issues affecting the health of the people.

Prof. Opoku made the call at the maiden Diploma in Project Design and Management (DPDM) graduation ceremony for some doctors at KATH.

The competency-based course was organized by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons to equip the doctors with research and generic skills to manage professional and life related issues.

The programme is currently being run at KATH and the Korle-bu Teaching hospital.

A total of nine doctors were awarded certificates in the maiden graduation ceremony.

Prof. Opoku said transitioning from membership to fellowship in the medical field now, was not only involved in just retrospective data collection and analysis, but also research work.

He was of the view that if more doctors undertook these work-based programmes, they would be able to deliver well to improve health care delivery and accelerated the growth and development of the country.

Dr. John Nkrumah Mills, President of the GCPS, said the outbreak of COVID-19 was a wake-up call for medical practitioners to do things differently and better.

He said medical doctors should now see health as not merely the absence of disease, but the total environment of the patient, adding that, with the requisite knowledge and skills acquired in the programme, they would work to improve healthcare delivery.

Dr Mills stressed the need to push hard and encourage all science-based professionals in health care delivery to take such courses to enhance their knowledge on broader national discourse.