AWARE that their ability to earn depends on it, a majority of Jamaica’s doctors have already completed a mandatory course on ethics, while over 600 more have a further three months to sort themselves out.

Doctors are mandated to complete a two-hour seminar on bioethics, in order to be certified to practise in Jamaica.

The 14-member Medical Council of Jamaica (MCJ), which is responsible for running the nationwide exercise, will not certify doctors who have not done the session. They have until December 31 to get certified, as come January 1, 2010, no doctor who has not completed the seminar will be allowed to practise in Jamaica.

The effort, which is the brainchild of bioethicist specialist Dr Derrick Aarons, has been given a high pass mark by the doctor.

“It has been all positive,” said Ocho Rios-based Dr Aarons.

“We have covered about 1,400 doctors in total, so far, and we hope that all the others will be certified by the end of the year,” he said.

A higher-than-normal number of complaints by patients against doctors and the need for practitioners to become aware of the relevant issues involved, spurred the MCJ to step up a gear in its quest to keep the profession clean and reduce the number of irregular actions on the part of its members.

Under the programme, each doctor must participate in one session on ethics of the profession, lasting usually around two hours, at the end of which he would be eligible to renew his licence the following year.

Seminars have been held in Mandeville, Kingston, Montego Bay, Savanna-la-Mar and Ocho Rios.

Registrar of the MCJ, Dr Muriel Lowe, said there was no reluctance by doctors to get certified.

“Not at all,” she said. “It has been going quite satisfactorily. You can’t have too much ot it,” Dr Lowe said.

The remaining three seminars will be held at the University of the West Indies today, as well as Annotto Bay, St Mary in October and the final one back at University of the West Indies in November.

“We are expecting over 50 doctors, mainly from this eastern region,” said senior medical officer of the Annotto Bay Hospital Dr Ray Fraser, who will host the next rural seminar.

“Doctors from Portland, in particular, who would have difficulty travelling to Kingston or Ochi Rios, would find it easier on them to attend.

“All the doctors are well aware of the importance of the ethics seminars and what it means for them. They are taking it seriously,” Dr Fraser said.

Bioethics is defined as the philosophical study of the ethical controversies brought about by the advances in biology and medicine.

New president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association, Dr Shane Alexis, embraced the programme, saying it was for the good of the profession.

“The Medical Council is the professional standards body. It’s for everybody in the profession, be they junior doctor or consultant, to get in line.

“There needs to be ethical standards in medicine and anything that promotes that; the JMDA would be in full support,” the Kingston Public Hospital-based doctor said.

Chairman of the MCJ Dr Trevor McCartney told the Observer in a previous interview that the council was forced to act to protect the profession’s credibility.

“Irregular behaviour among doctors is increasing and we need to act now. Doctors have no choice. They have to participate in these seminars.

“We need to be proactive. We have to pay more attention to this and we are taking the high road. It is our responsibility to protect the public,” Dr McCartney said then.

The seminars form part of the annual 15-hour continuing medical education that all doctors are required to have.

“It’s not like a long time ago when Jamaican doctors were drawn from the University of the West Indies. Nowadays, doctors are coming from all over the world to practise here. Whilst we know that they have met the curriculum requirements in sciences, we don’t know how much ethics training they have been exposed to,” Dr Aarons said in a previous interview.

Now the man on whose shoulders organising of the seminars falls, believes that the activity that he describes as less than stressful to him has gone through all areas of the operation with flying colours.

“We have had visiting doctors from overseas who are amazed by what we have been doing,” Dr Aarons said.

“We had three expatriate doctors a month ago in Savanna-la-Mar and they said they were impressed with the high level of the seminar. Everybody is aware of it,” Dr Aarons said.