HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE
The Medical School of the University of Ilorin was established as a second generation Medical School and started as the Faculty of Health Sciences with Professor Eldryd Hugh Owen Parry as the Foundation Dean from October 1977- February 1979. It was founded to run an innovative medical curriculum which was to be community oriented, student centered and with integrated teaching and problem based learning.
The Faculty was granted a collegiate status on the 1st of April, 2004 with two Faculties: Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences and Faculty of Clinical Sciences. An Acting Provost was appointed in the person of Professor A.O. Soladoye along with two Acting Deans: Professor A.B Okesina and Professor B.J. Bojuwoye for the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences and Faculty of Clinical Sciences respectively. The University Council at its 167th meeting held on 11th & 12th March, 2020 approved the establishment of Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, making the Faculties in the College to be three. At the same meeting the University Council also approved the establishment of the Department of Dentistry and Radiography. Earlier on, the Department of Family Medicine was established on 12th December, 2017.
Prof. C. Nwabuisi was appointed the foundation Acting Dean of the Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences on 11th August, 2020. Hence, the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences comprises of 3 departments (Anatomy, Physiology and Medical Biochemistry). Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences comprises of Departments of (Chemical Pathology and Immunology, Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Hematology, Pathology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Sciences, and Radiography. While Faculty of Clinical Sciences comprises of 13 Departments (Anaesthesia, Behavioural Science, Dentistry, Epidemiology & Community Medicine, Family Medicine, Medicine, Nursing Sciences, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Paediatrics & Child Health , Radiology, Surgery).
To give practical expression to the community oriented curriculum, the Community Based Experience and Services, with the acronym COBES programme was established. This programme takes the Medical Students to Communities called COBES Sites at 200, 300, 500 and 600 levels with the students spending 4 weeks during each of the postings within the communities to which they are posted in groups to achieve well-articulated minimum learning objectives. Following a College Board Decision of Thursday 10th January, 2019, the programme now takes the Medical Students to communities at 300 and 600 levels respectively.
The programme has put the College on the world map and has earned for the College international recognition by World Health Organization (WHO) as its Collaborating Centre for Research and Manpower Development. It has also earned the College full membership, in the bronze category of the International Network of Community Oriented Institutions for the Health Sciences with its Headquarters in Maastricht, Netherlands now known as Towards Unity for Health, (TUFH). The College has produced a past President of that international body in the person of Professor O. Ogunbode. So popular is the programme that the University Administration is keen on extending its underlying philosophy and principle to other courses being run across all Faculties of the University through “COBESsization” policy.
Apart from the MB; BS programme, the B.Sc Programmes in Anatomy and Physiology were established in the 1991/92 Session, while the Nursing Sciences, Physiotherapy and Medical Laboratory Science programme came on board in the 2010/2011, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 sessions respectively. Postgraduate programmes, Masters and Ph.D are now available in Anatomy, Physiology, Medical Microbiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Chemical Pathology and Immunology, Public Health and Paediatrics and Child health.
So far, 4,609 Medical graduates 3,530 males and 1,071 females have since inception of the Medical School been produced. Some of these have acquired Postgraduate degrees at home and abroad and have joined the academic staff of the College. In the B.Sc. programmes, 2419 graduates have so far been produced, 1240 in Anatomy and 1179 in Physiology. Ninety Two (92) Nursing graduates comprising of 12 males and 80 females have also been produced.
There are a total of 202 academic staff, 69 in Basic Medical Sciences and 133 in the Clinical Sciences, 62 of whom are Professors (51 in Clinical Sciences, 13 in Basic Medical Sciences).
The College has an existing linkage with Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia in the USA in the area of training general medical practitioners in basic ultrasonography and young radiologists in Doppler Ultrasonography. This is accomplished by the running of the programme in the Midland Ultrasound Research Education Centre (MUREC). Academic staff have also attracted research grants in which they are principal investigators such as African Quinine and Artesunate Trial in the Treatment of Severe Malaria (AQUAMAT) sponsored by the Wellcome Trust, Thailand(Professor OA Mokuolu) , Human Heredity and Health (H3 Africa) in Africa Kidney Disease Research Network an National Institute of Health (NIH) sponsored multinational study aimed to determine the environmental, clinical and genetic epidemiology of kidney diseases in Africa (Dr. TO Olanrewaju), Multicenter (NIH) Stroke Investigative Research and Educational Network (SIREN) (Professor KW Wahab), United States Agency for International Development-Child Blindness Program USAID-CBP to train community health workers and teachers to screen and refer children with eye problems (Dr. Dupe S. Ademola-Popoola), Generating evidence to accelerate reduction in salt associated life threats sponsored by the University of Warwick, UK GCFR Fund (Professor IA Katibi), Health Insurance in Kwara State sponsored by Pharmaccess, Amsterdam (Professor TM Akande), Need assessment survey to develop a business plan for Ikire Community Health Center sponsored by Harvard University, USA (Dr A Bolarinwa) e.t.c.
Three members of the College academic staff emerged the University of Ilorin best researcher of the year in the years 2010 (Professor OA Mokuolu), 2012 (Professor AO Mahmoud) and 2016 (Professor KW Wahab) respectively. A few staff have also invented medical devices which have been patented or introduced surgical procedures and signs named after them which include the Odebode-Agaja Adult Cervical Traction Device, Omokanye-Adebola-Alabi Temporal Bone Holder, M. Ijaiya’s technique of vesicovaginal closure and Olaniyi Adeniran’s sign for early detection of peritonitis in children. Dr. Dupe S. Ademola-Popoola of the Department of Ophthalmology initiated, prepared and provided technical support for the bill “Kwara Childhood Sight Protection Law-2013” signed and published in Kwara State Gazette in 2014.The College also currently boasts of the best Clinical Skill and Simulation Laboratory (CSSL) in the country which has attracted the visit of at least 15 medical schools in the country so far. It was commissioned on 22nd October, 2013.
The College moved to its permanent site on 28th May, 2018. The permanent site houses the offices of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College Administrative Block and the Provost’s and Dean’s offices.
PAST AND PRESENT PROVOSTS OF COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
- Professor A. O. Soladoye – Acting Provost, – April, 2004 – July, 2006
- Professor B. J. Bojuwoye – Provost , August, 2006 – July, 2010
- Professor A. B. O. Omotoso – Provost, August, 2010 – June, 2014
- Professor ‘W. B. R. Johnson – Provost, August, 2014 – July, 2018
- Professor O. T. Adedoyin – Provost, August, 2018 – To Date