Is My Healthcare Practitioner a Quack?

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Recently, we have some trending articles and videos of medical personnel who harvest organs of unsuspecting patients during surgery for other purposes. Most of the general public assume the personnel are doctors.

The Nigerian Medical Association in the respective states ought to have started investigating them to know if they are doctors, and if they truly carried out the malpractice. 

We should be reminded that the news may be false, hence, no need for panic yet. 

If the news is correct, the personnel are most likely quacks (persons who practise what they have not been licensed to do) or medical doctors with criminal minds.

It is difficult to identify medical doctors with criminal minds; it is, however, relatively easier to know quacks.

For the sake of the general public, these three tips are helpful to identify quacks. The knowledge will safeguard your health.


1. All licensed health practitioners (nurses and doctors) display their licences in the reception or waiting area. Look around carefully in any government-approved clinics owned by nurses or doctors, you would see their licences. If you cannot see any government-authorized licence, the medical personnel in the facility have questionable trainings.

2. Qualified health personnel don't hesitate to answer your questions. They have the knowledge, and they want you to be well. Except the patient load in the clinic is heavy, doctors and nurses clarify health issues their patients have. Any healthcare practitioner who has the persistent and impolite habit of not answering your health inquiry has a questionable training.

3. Orderliness and hygiene of the health facility. Irrespective of the location of the clinic, there should be a smooth flow of people and minimum cleanliness in the health facility. Nurses and doctors know this. If you visit any disorderly and untidy health center, the personnel are suspected to have questionable trainings.


There are many more tips. At least two of the above are present in any facility owned by an untrained healthcare provider.

Cheers to your good health.


Ademola Orolu


About the Author

Ademola is a Consultant Family Physician and writer. He founded the online health magazine, The Family Doctors, and was its Editor-in-Chief from 2017 to 2020. He is the medical director of Nathaniel Health Consulting, a family hospital in Matogbun, Ogun State. 

He is an author of many books including storybooks. He regularly writes on health-promoting topics and encourages positive behavioural change in his articles.


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