All Medical Doctors, Dentists and Dental Surgeons practicing in Ghana are to use Dr. (Med) and Dr. (Dent) as their new designations effective January 1, 2024. President of the Ghana Medical Association, GMA, Dr Frank Serebour in a statement, says reason for adding “Medical” and “Dental” to the “Doctor” title is to help enhance Patients’ rights, Patient safety and quality Healthcare among others.
This is to help distinguish between Medical and Dental “Doctor” titles from Academic “Doctor” titles and the proliferation of honorary “Doctor” titles which has become a norm in recent times.
The statement said the decision was taken at the 65th Annual General Meeting of the GMA held in Takoradi in November last year. It explained that Medical Doctors and Dentists with additional academic titles will prefix those titles with their academic titles as appropriate.
The GMA therefore instructed that all practicing Medical Doctors and Dentists/Dental Surgeons should change their Name Tags, Practitioner Stamps and other relevant materials to reflect the change.
The Statement further encouraged members of the Association to wear their name tags at all times at work to ensure clear and easy identification in the interest of Patient and Public safety.
All Medical Doctors and Dentists should readily show their designations when asked by Patients or the Public. It implores the media and the Public to take note of the new designations and refer to Medical Doctors and Dentists as such.