Doctors push for new policy to govern internship

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The President of the Uganda Medical Association, Dr. Ekwaro Obuku has revealed that they are pushing for a new policy to govern internship.

While they managed to garner a lot of achievement from the 2017 doctors’ strike, Obuku says they have failed to organize interns and they remain chaotic especially with the increasing number of students doing medicine course.

Last week during a symposium on Universal Health Coverage organized by the Makerere University School of Public Health, Makerere University Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabus Nawangwe complained that medical students now find challenges being given internship placement at Mulago hospital.

He said the Ministry of Health needs to come up with proper terms on benefits for interns and the numbers to be placed at any particular time.

When this was put to State Minister of Health in charge of Primary Health Care, she said the challenges arise from the fact that there are big student numbers with private universities increasingly enrolling large numbers of students. She said as a result, the wards are crowded something that discomforts the sick.

According to the latest report by the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council released in August, up to 550 students from the 10 approved medical training institutions across the country are deployed for internship each year. But the Minister says one of the challenges is that people always look at Mulago hospital as the first place for internship.

Kampala International University has the highest number of medical students. Last year it graduated the highest number of 214 students followed by Makerere and Mbarara University of Science and Technology at 151 and 73 students respectively.

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