Regulation of Medical Practice and Registration/Licensing with the MDCN
What this domain tests
The exam checks whether you can trace a doctor's path from graduate to licensed practitioner, name the governing legal instrument, and separate registration from licensing.
Core rules
- The Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Cap M8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004) creates the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) and empowers it to register, license, discipline and accredit.
- Registration is entry onto the register; the annual practising licence (APL) is permission to practise for a defined year. A certificate of full registration does not excuse an expired APL.
- Main categories are provisional registration (for housemanship), full registration, specialist registration, and temporary or visiting registration for eligible foreign practitioners.
- Only registered practitioners may hold out as medical or dental practitioners, sign statutory certificates, or recover fees in court.
- The Registrar keeps the register; changes of address and requests for good-standing letters go through the Council.
Worked example
A graduate completes MBBS and has an accredited housemanship post. She obtains provisional registration and starts the 12-month internship. At the end, the hospital issues a Certificate of Experience. She then applies for full registration and buys her APL. If she takes a locum in month 13 before the APL is issued, she is practising without a licence even though fully registered. The reasoning: the register and the licence are separate legal controls.
Traps
- Assuming full registration automatically renews the APL.
- Treating foreign qualifications as automatically registrable; MDCN may require assessment or supervised practice.
- Confusing the Council's registration role with the Disciplinary Tribunal's adjudicative role.