By Victor Turinawe
The President of the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), Associate Professor Frank Asiimwe Rwabinda, has praised the growth of medical schools in Uganda, noting that for nearly 70 years, Makerere University was the only institution training doctors in the country after medical education began in the institution in 1924.
“The landscape has since expanded significantly with so many other universities starting up medical schools after Makerere University, the pioneer of medical education and a global research powerhouse,” he said at the Federation of Uganda Medical Students Association (FUMSA) Medical Quiz competitions.
The accredited medical schools include Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Gulu University, Kampala International University (KIU), King Ceasor University, Kabale University, and Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU), Busitema University, Lira University, Uganda Christian University (UCU), St Lawrence University, Uganda Martyrs University Nkozi, Habib Medical School, and Soroti University.
He emphasised that every institution contributes something unique to Uganda’s healthcare system.
“We must celebrate numbers and diversity in medical education. Uganda needs more doctors, and every university has a role to play. The increasing number of medical graduates should not be seen as a problem but rather as an opportunity to strengthen healthcare delivery,” said Asiimwe.
The one-day quiz which took place on Saturday, 7th March, saw 10 universities participate. King Ceasor University attained the highest number of points, 400. IUIU and Soroti University both got 385, MUST got 370, Busitema University 350, KIU 330, Gulu University 325, UCU 320, Kabale University 290 and Lira University 289.
The 10 universities which turned up for the quiz participated in four items: preclinicals (anatomy, biochemistry and physiology), pharmacology, pathology and general knowledge; internal medicine, psychiatry and paediatrics; and surgery and obstetrics/gynaecology. It was hosted by UCU Kampala Campus at UCU Main Campus in Mukono Municipality.
The President of FUMSA, Amon Nkwasiibwe, said the National Medical Quiz is organised to assess and strengthen the academic competence of medical students while also promoting collaboration among institutions as a way of measuring the quality of medical education across universities because the questions asked are not based on the curriculum of a single institution.
“When students from different universities come and perform well in these quizzes, it shows that the level of medical training across institutions is comparable,” Nkwasiibwe noted.
FUMSA also organises community outreach programmes such as national medical camps in different regions of the country. These initiatives expose students to real-life healthcare challenges while providing essential medical services to underserved communities. The association recently conducted medical camps in the West Nile region, particularly in the Arua and Nebbi districts, and is planning another outreach programme in the Ntungamo District to serve communities in remote rural areas.
“These activities help medical students interact with communities, understand their health challenges, and learn how to serve them effectively,” he explained.
According to Isaac Bwambale, a student from Kampala International University (KIU), the national medical quiz plays an important role in uniting medical students from different regions and institutions across Uganda.
“The quiz does not only bring us together as medical students from various universities, but it also enhances the knowledge we acquire in class. It helps confirm what we have studied by testing us through questions set by independent examiners,” he noted.
Priscilla Mutetsi, a student at Uganda Christian University (UCU) Kampala Campus, shared that the exposure encourages students to revisit areas where they may lack confidence. “If I encounter a question I cannot answer well, it motivates me to go back and master that concept before advancing further,” she said.
President Nkwasiibwe further explained that FUMSA operates under the patronage of the Uganda Medical Association and serves as the umbrella body uniting all medical students across the country, and it brings together students from 13 accredited medical schools in Uganda, representing nearly 3,000 medical students undergoing training in various health disciplines.
