At least 270 undeployed medical interns in Northern Uganda are asking the government to scrap medical internships after graduation.
This suggestion comes a few days after President Yoweri Museveni, said the government did not have funds to pay for medical internships, and wondered why the sponsors of their education could not continue doing so during the internship.
Graduates in the medical profession are required by policy to work for a year under the supervision of a specialist using a temporary deployment license, after which, they are given a practicing license. This implies that the internship is the main avenue to getting a license to practice the profession.
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While speaking to journalists in Gulu, Dr Moses Komakech, one of the three representatives of the undeployed interns in northern Uganda, reasoned that during their course, they do practicals during hospital and health centre placements, equivalent to the internship.
Dr Komakech, who completed his course at Gulu University in May 2024, said subjecting them to a mandatory internship is unfair and contributes to failing their career.
Dr Komekech thinks that if he was deployed, he would be catering for his two children, but he has been forced to shift that burden to his grandparents, who took care of him.
He suggested that the government should integrate internships within their curriculum like for other professions, if there is no money to pay the interns.
The Ministry of Health advertised on June 25th, 2024 that all prospective interns in Uganda apply for temporary registration license, which enables them to complete a mandatory one-year internship.
However, Dr Byron Awekonimungu revealed that in Acholi, Lango, West Nile, and Karamoja, there are at least 270 medical graduates who cannot start practicing their profession because they have not been deployed for internship.
Figures provided by the graduates show that out of 2,706 interns who were supposed to be deployed only 1,379 interns have been deployed.
According to Dr Awekonimungu, the failure to deploy medical interns is causing a shortage of a critical workforce in the major medical facilities nationwide. He cited that in 2023, Gulu Regional Referral received 45 interns.
Still, this year, the number has reduced to only 21, and in Lacor Hospital, last year alone there were 59 interns deployed, but this year there are only 21.
“We came out as scientists, but right now we are not working. And yet we have work to do. Doctors are meant to be in the hospitals, not on the streets. Nurses are meant to be in the hospitals, not on the streets,” he said.
Dr Awekonimungu is afraid that if the issue is not addressed, by December, there will be more than 2,000 undeployed interns because the universities will have released more.
“So at the end of it you are seeing a group of disgruntled young men and women, very active, who are being denied access to develop and being rendered idle and disorderly,” he said.
Nancy Nicole Nyeko a graduate of nursing from Clarke International University, Kampala, said she completed her course in June 2023 but is yet to be deployed for internship.
Nyeko said she is instead doing domestic chores at home and is afraid that she might lose the skills she acquired if she does not start practicing soon. come in, you realize that these patients die before nobody attends to them.
Figures in a letter addressed to the president on August 3rd, 2024, by the coordinators of the pre-intern medics show that there are 1,206 undeployed interns countrywide.
According to the pre-intern medics, there has been a steady decline in the number of interns deployed each year since 2022, yet the accredited internship sites have gone up from 58 in 2023 to 73 in 2024.
Only 1,500 interns have been deployed compared to 1,926 in 2023, and 1,614 in 2022.
A press statement by the Ministry of Health released on 2nd August 2024, noted that an additional 18.8 billion Shillings is required to deploy all eligible medical interns.