The Nigerian Complementary and Alternative Medicine Students’ Association (NiCAMSA) has urged the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to regulate alternative medicine education and practice.
The association made the call in a position paper submitted to MDCN, seeking uniform standards for education, clinical training, registration and professional practice.
Speaking with journalists in Akure, NiCAMSA President, Mr Ayuba Yusuf, said effective regulation was necessary to guarantee competent practitioners and protect patients.
“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 said the association’s position followed MDCN’s recent inclusion of a representative of alternative medicine practitioners on its governing board.
Yusuf urged MDCN to work closely with the National Universities Commission (NUC) to harmonise academic and professional standards for university-based complementary and alternative medicine programmes.
According to him, the collaboration should ensure that academic approval and professional regulation develop together rather than as separate processes.
NiCAMSA proposed that NUC’s Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards should provide the academic foundation, while MDCN contributes professional and clinical components.
“We need a framework where academic standards and professional competencies are deliberately aligned from the beginning,” he said.
The association also called for MDCN participation in accreditation, curriculum review, periodic inspections and quality assurance of universities offering complementary and alternative medicine programmes.
Yusuf said CAM programmes should have nationally consistent standards covering admission, staffing, clinical resources, laboratories, libraries, research facilities and student assessment.
He advocated a consistent institutional structure for CAM departments, preferably under dedicated Faculties of Complementary and Alternative Medicine within Colleges of Medicine or Health Sciences.
The association further urged MDCN to support the adoption of Bachelor of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (BCAM) as the professional degree nomenclature.
According to Yusuf, the proposed nomenclature would better reflect the programme’s clinical orientation and distinguish professional training from conventional academic degree programmes.
“CAM education is designed to prepare practitioners for patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, health promotion and disease prevention,” he said.
NiCAMSA also proposed extending the current four-year training structure to a minimum of five years, with adequate pre-clinical and clinical components.
Yusuf said the proposed extension would strengthen clinical competence, patient safety, public confidence and the international recognition of Nigerian CAM qualifications.
He noted that CAM encompasses several disciplines, including acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, naturopathy, physical and manual therapies and lifestyle medicine.
The association called for CAM-specific accreditation standards covering acupuncture clinics, herbal medicine laboratories, therapeutic massage units, rehabilitation facilities and integrative medicine centres.
It also proposed mandatory supervised internship or housemanship for graduates, similar to the structured clinical experience required of medical and dental graduates.
“The classroom alone cannot provide the supervised patient-care, interdisciplinary and clinical-management experience required for independent professional responsibility,” Yusuf said.
NiCAMSA proposed clinical rotations covering physical and manual therapy, environmental and sensory therapy, nutraceutical and lifestyle therapy, psychotherapy and primary healthcare.
The association urged MDCN to accredit suitable internship centres, including teaching hospitals, Federal Medical Centres, specialist hospitals and approved integrative medicine facilities.
Yusuf said successful completion of the supervised programme should qualify graduates for a Certificate of Experience and contribute to their pathway toward full registration.
NiCAMSA further requested MDCN to establish a transparent registration system beginning with graduation from accredited programmes and provisional registration.
The proposed pathway would include supervised internship, Certificate of Experience, full registration, annual practising licence renewal and continuing professional development.
Yusuf also called for clear professional conduct and disciplinary standards governing qualified CAM practitioners and graduates entering professional practice.
He said regulation should promote accountability while providing practitioners, institutions, students and the public with a clear understanding of professional responsibilities.
The association further urged MDCN to benchmark Nigerian CAM education against internationally recognised competency-based programmes, including naturopathic medicine, chiropractic, Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine.
“This will improve graduate competitiveness, international collaboration, research partnerships and opportunities for postgraduate education,” Yusuf said.
NiCAMSA called for structured consultations involving MDCN, NUC, the Federal Ministries of Health and Education, universities, teaching hospitals, professional associations and international organisations.
Yusuf said students should also be recognised as important stakeholders because regulatory decisions would directly determine their education, professional development and future practice.
He expressed the association’s readiness to participate in consultations, curriculum development, public enlightenment, research, innovation and initiatives aimed at promoting ethical professional practice.
The association consequently urged MDCN to publish an implementation roadmap clarifying accreditation requirements, clinical training standards, registration procedures, licensing and continuing professional development.
Yusuf said the proposed framework would ensure that the expansion of CAM education was matched by appropriate standards for academic quality, clinical competence and patient safety.
“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.