Prioritize your health, Faduyile charges Nigerian Doctors

By Steve Ovirih.

Distinguished Senator Prof.Dayo Faduyile, OON has advised Nigerian Medical Doctors and health practitioners to take their personal healthy wellbeing seriously as they stand in the line as savers for others who need proper medical attention.

Senator Faduyile gave this charge in his keynote address at the 2026 Physicians’ week of Nigeria Medical Association,NMA Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, which held at Chida International Hotel,Utako on Tuesday,20th October.

At the event which has in attendance Medical Professionals and Doctors in FCT, Senator Prof.Dayo Faduyile who addressed the issue of ‘saving the savers: promoting Physicians’ wellbeing, preventing Burnout, Cardiovascular Disease and premature death, noted that Medical Doctors in their bid to save patients often tend to forget themselves and get carried away in the business of providing healthcare for a horde of patients on daily basis. He stressed that House Officers,Chief Residents, Medical Officers,Physicians who balance clinical works with teaching and also have home responsibilities must create time to attend to their own health to avoid being burnt out.

The Professor of Pathology and Forensic Medicine who double as the Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District maintained that in order to make savers in the health sector have the consciousness about how seriously they also matter in the healthcare chain, the Hippocratic oath has changed to now read, ” I will attend to my own health in order to be in perfect health to attend to other people’s health.”

“It is unfortunate that healers and doctors now abandon themselves why focusing on others.The theme of the 2026 Physicians’ week, NMA FCT Abuja is very apt as it talks about Securing the Future of Medicine in Nigeria. Therefore, if the future of Medicine must be secured, everything bordering on ensuring good welfare for Doctors, provision of Health Insurance Scheme must be properly factored in the scheme of things.

“The time has come for medical professionals to ponder on what type of healthcare system they intend to leave for future generations. I make bold to say that the future of Medicine does not depend only on scientific breakthroughs and technological advancement but also on the welfare of healthcare professionals and both government and individual professionals must make this concern a priority,” Ondo South Senator reiterated.

Talking about causes of burnout among Doctors which include high workload, financial pressure and while listing symptoms of burnout as persistent fatigue, headache, reduced empathy,reduced sense of efficacy among others, Senator Faduyile said a physician who is physically exhausted, emotionally depleted ,chronically stressed and personally neglected cannot indefinitely provide the quality of care patients deserve.

Advising his colleague Medical Doctors, the Professor of Pathology noted that the job of saving savers is bifocal hence the need for doctors to do a health check regularly on themselves, insisting that burnout for any medical doctor is not a badge of honor.

He called the attention of Nigerian Doctors to premature death phenomenon which is becoming rampant among medical professionals, adding that the stress of the workplace has led to cardiovascular challenge in some Doctors while in orders acute depression giving rise to premature deaths.

He therefore charged savers in the health profession to make it a point of duty to also save themselves even as they show commitment to saving others.

Earlier in his welcome address, Vice Chairman NMA FCT, and Chairman Local Organizing Committee, Dr.Joesph Omeke noted that the FCT Physicians’week is an august gathering which help healthcare professionals reflect on collective responsibilities and explore practical ways to strengthen healthcare delivery in Nigeria while ensuring that the savers’ lives are adequately protected.

In his remark, President Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Prof.Afhekide Earnest Omoti said Medicare in Nigeria stands at a crossroads. “We are proud of our achievements, our resilience and our capacity to deliver under difficult circumstances.Yet, we must also acknowledge the realities confronting our profession: increasing workloads, inadequate infrastructure, insecurity, declining remuneration and welfare, professional burnout, migration of medical doctors, rising health risks among physicians, technological disruption and the urgent need to modernize medical education.”