ABOUT LIBERIA COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
The Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons (LCPS) which is currently headed by Prof. John K. Mulbah, is the Government of Liberia (GOL’s) flagship training program for postgraduate medical education. It was established by an Act of the National Legislature in 2012 to provide high quality postgraduate medical education in order to address the Specialist gaps within the Health Workforce Program of the Country thereby strengthening the health system. The College was established based on the framework of the West African Postgraduate Medical Colleges.
The actual postgraduate medical residency training of LCPS commenced in October of 2013 beginning with the 4 historical specialty programs: Obstetrics/Gynecology, General Surgery, Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. The College has over the years grown from the initial 4 traditional specialty programs and has integrated Faculties to include Family Medicine (2017), Ophthalmology (2018) and Psychiatry (2019). There are plans to inaugurate additional specialty areas based on the availability of the requisite financial and human resources.
By 2021, the initial target was to produce 60 Specialist Doctors for deployment across the 15 Counties. The goal was informed considering 4 Specialists per county from each of the 4 historical programs to mitigate the gaps in specialist care.
To date, the achievability of this target is well in sight as a total of 45 out of 60 (75%) Specialists Doctors have been trained by LCPS and accordingly assigned to various health institutions across the Country. Additionally, the GOL and the WHO Liberia have provided special funding to train 18 Doctors abroad in specialty areas that are not yet offered in the Residency Training Program of LCPS.
The Residency Training Arm of LCPS which began as a College based program has now transitioned to hospital based as of the academic year 2019 with the John F. Kennedy Medical Center (JFKMC) being the main teaching hospital. At present, the training programs for all faculties are mainly staffed with foreign Consultants on a full time basis while the rest are Liberians that work as part timers. Robust plans are currently underway to develop the capacity of Liberians who will gradually take charge of the Residency training program at all levels. Nationalizing the faculty is very paramount considering the huge cost associated with maintaining foreign Faculty. Preparation for the inauguration of a local Fellowship program at LCPS is well on course as selected Specialists are currently being identified as potential trainees for the upcoming Fellowship program.
The Liberia College of Physicians & Surgeons has the full support of the Government of Liberia and is allocated an annual budget. The College also has established strong partnership with the following:
World Bank
Academic Partners:
Boston Medical Center, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Yale University and Vanderbilt
University
LV Prasad Eye Institute
WHO
USAID
Clinton Health Access Initiative
Partners In Health
West African College of Surgeons
West African College of Physicians
Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons
National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria