Health Experts Brainstorm On Interprofessional Collaboration

Former minister of Health, Professor Eyitayo Lambo is expected to make a keynote presentation at a symposium that will examine ways of fostering collaboration among the various health care professionals.

Jointly organised by the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy and the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, the Symposium which will assemble professionals drawn from medicine, pharmacy, nursing, medical laboratory sciences and other health professions, will hold at the University of Lagos on May 11.

According to Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, another former health minister and president of the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy, collaboration among the various professionals is critical if the health sector is to realize its full potential.

The health sector he said “is brimming with well-trained and diligent professionals – doctors, optometrists, medical laboratory scientists, nurses and many others – who can best optimize their training, talent and expertise in a conducive environment devoid of acrimony.”

Adelusi-Adeluyi added, “collaborative practice is now being actively championed by the WHO. When health workers from different professional backgrounds work together, there will clearly be a much better likelihood that the patient will receive the best quality of care.”

He continued, “Such collaborative practice must however be preceded by an ingrained culture of inter-professional collaboration. Today, several initiatives around the world, support an integrated model of care for the patient, that deploys the collective expertise and talent of the entire health team.”

The former minister noted that the symposium will be one in a series of activities that seeks to fast-track the emergence of a culture of mutual trust and collaboration among the various professionals.

Apart from Professor Lambo, a long list of distinguished professionals from the various health disciplines are billed to participate in the symposium, which has also received the endorsement of the various professional groups in the health sector, including the Nigeria Medical Association, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives among others, who have all pledged to participate actively in the initiative.

Lined up so far as speakers are Dr. Ebun Sonaiya, a medical doctor and former president of the Guild of Medical Directors, Mr. Jimi Agbaje a pharmacist and frontline politician, Professor Dennis Agbonlahor a leading light of the medical laboratory scientist profession as well as Mrs. Sade Modupe Jokotola, a veteran nurse.

Mr. Chukwuma Muanya, a health journalist is also lined up as a speaker.

A specialist academy with a primary focus on promoting health and pharmaceutical research, the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy was founded in 2014.

It is one of six such specialized academies in Nigeria.