Accreditation Committee

The Accreditation Committee of the College comprises one Fellow from each Faculty of the College appointed by the Council on the nomination of the Faculty Board. The Chairman of the Committee is the College President and the Secretary is the Secretary General. The functions of the Committee are:

a. To carry out the inspection of institutions in the member countries which provide postgraduate professional medical education in order to assess the suitability of such institutions and their programmes for training in each particular specialty.
b. To determine the criteria for recognition of postgraduate medical specialist qualifications obtained outside the member countries.

Finance and General Purposes Committee

The Finance and General Purposes Committee comprises: The President of the College, the Immediate Past President, the Vice-Presidents, the President-Elect, the Secretary-General, the College Treasurer and the Immediate Past Secretary-General. The Committee acts on behalf of the full Council in between meetings of the Council and in situations of emergency where the full Council may not be able to meet. The functions of this committee are:

a. Preparation of annual estimates for the College.
b. Assisting the President and the Secretary–General in administering the College in between Annual General Meetings.
c. Carrying out the directives of the Council.
d. Appointing senior staff of the College.

The College Council

The College Council is made up of not more than six (6) Fellows (other than Honorary Fellows) from each Chapter and reflecting, as much as possible, the various Faculties. Chairmen of Faculties are non-voting members of Council, without prejudice to the six members elected by each Chapter. The six Fellows from each Chapter include its National Chairman/College Vice-President, National Secretary, the National Treasurer and three others elected by the Chapter. The Council elects from amongst its members and former Council members the College President, the Secretary–General and the College Treasurer. The Immediate Past President and Immediate Past Secretary-General of the College are ex-officio members of the Council with full voting rights. The President-Elect, the Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Treasurer are ex-officio, non-voting members of the Council.

The powers and duties of the Council are:-
a. To take responsibility for the overall supervision and organisation of the affairs of the College.
b. To hold meetings once a year and at such other times as shall be deemed necessary by the President or, when called upon to do so.
c. To be responsible for, and supervise the administration of the College through necessary directives to College officers.
d. To fill for the unexpired term, any vacancy created by the resignation, death or removal of a College officer.
e. To be responsible for the organization and conduct of College examinations.
f. To deal with the funds of the College and invest upon such securities in such manner as may from time to time be determined by the College.
g. To acquire by purchase, lease or otherwise any lands or property as may be deemed by the Council likely to advance or benefit the Aims and Objectives of the College.
h. To manage, improve and maintain, and to demise, sell or otherwise deal with and dispose of all or any part of the lands and other property of the College for such consideration as the Council may deem fit.
i. To do all such other lawful things as are incidental and conducive to the attainment of the Aims and Objectives of the College.

• The College conducts training programmes in accredited institutions in every member country. These include middle level specialists through the Diploma in Psychiatry programme.

• The curricula for the Fellowship training programmes of all faculties are regularly reviewed. In line with modern developments, these are all competency-based. The assessment (examination) methods are also upgraded regularly in line with modern requirements.

• Since its Fellowship training programme commenced in 1979, over 1500 specialists have completed the Fellowship training programme of the College.

• Accreditation criteria for the training programmes and institutions are updated on a regular and continuous basis. The expected competencies guide the accreditation of programmes in training institutions. Feedback is routinely given to heads of institutions that fall short of the expected standards. It is the desire of the College to increase the number of accredited posts and institutions, especially in underserved Faculties and Countries.

• Workshops are regularly organized for training coordinators and examiners (during examination periods), on various aspects of the curriculum and methods of assessment. A number of examiners from the various faculties have participated in or observed examinations in sister colleges outside the sub-region and attended courses on methods of assessment. Specialists from these institutions have also participated as observers of the College’s Fellowship examinations; their reports have served to evaluate the standards of the training programme and its examinations.

• A Membership certificate is awarded after the Part I Fellowship examination for those who may not wish to pursue the full Fellowship programme; however, this is regarded as a middle level qualification.

• The College has been actively participating in the integration and harmonization of curricula of the Francophone specialist training programmes under the auspices of the West African Health Organization (WAHO

Promoting the standards of professional practice, ethics and morals of physicians

• The College provides Continuing Professional Development programmes through its Conferences and educational courses.

• The College prescribes rigorous standards for its Fellows, Members and trainees and prescribes severe penalties for those that breach these standards. There are provisions in the Medical and Dental Councils Acts of member countries which the College endorses and upholds.

Promotion of Health and Health Care in the Sub–region

• Fellows of the College provide high quality specialist health care throughout the sub-region.

• Fellows of the College teach at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the Medical Schools in the sub-region.

• Fellows of the College work in Ministries of Health and other health care agencies at the highest levels of planning and policy making.

• The College is committed to developing outreach programmes. It ensures wide circulation and publication, in the print and electronic media, of the communiqués of conferences and meetings, including the communiqué of its Annual General and Scientific Meeting in all the member countries. Through the College website, Journal and Faculty and College newsletters, it publishes research findings.

• The College recognizes that more needs to be done proactively on topical issues that affect the health of our people in the sub-region. It has actively encouraged supporting health services through exchange of specialised personnel.

• The College trains middle-level health professionals through the Diploma in Mental Health programme to meet the shortfall of psychiatrists all over the sub-region. It is committed to developing other programmes as needed by the governments of the sub-region.

Certification/Determination of persons to be designated as specialists

• A substantial number of individuals with specialist qualifications have been elected to the Fellowship of the College following examination of these qualifications. The numbers of those elected to the Fellowship has been gradually reducing as the numbers entering the College’s training programme in the sub-region have increased.

• The College has developed a list of specialist qualifications that are considered equivalent to its Fellowship.