Shortening doctors’ internships could help ease bottlenecks
The SA Medical Association says there are too few internships to accommodate medical students graduating in SA and abroad, especially in Cuba
Shortening doctors’ internships from two years to one is being mooted to alleviate the strain in the training of doctors. Health department spokesperson Popo Maja said: "What we know is that one of the health stakeholders did entertain the idea of internship training being reviewed. But it is too early for us to say anything about it." Two-year internships help medical students translate their theoretical knowledge into practice under the supervision of experienced doctors after their studies. One-year community service helps provide healthcare to underserved areas. South African Medical Association (Sama) chair Dr Angelique Coetzee said there was currently a bottleneck, with too few internships to accommodate medical students graduating in SA and abroad, especially in Cuba. "Where does one place that large amount of people coming in, plus these who you have already?" Coetzee said. "There is a big bottleneck at this stage, so if you can bring down the internships to one year and hav...
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