NO SPACE FOR MORE INTERNS

WESTERN BUREAU:

Following recent complaints from several China-trained doctors that their internship applications in Jamaica were reportedly rejected one month after their expected response deadline, the Ministry of Health and Wellness says the internship programme is already oversaturated, with 500 applications having been received this year.

In a media release yesterday, Dr Jacqueline Bisasor-McKenzie, the chief medical officer of Jamaica, said more than 250 interns have been placed on the programme within the past three years.

“Approximately 500 persons applied for internship positions this year, with approximately 70 per cent being foreign medical graduates from over 100 different medical schools. We are oversubscribed, as we are limited in the number of interns that we can take,” said Bisasor-McKenzie.

“In the selection process, preference is given to Jamaicans who have studied locally and overseas and, particularly, those on Government of Jamaica scholarships administered through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service. We are reviewing the programme with a view to increasing the numbers and standardising the allotment to hospitals,” she continued.

In an article published in The Gleaner on Saturday, it was reported that at least 30 doctors who did six years of training in China, beginning in 2019, had applied for internships at several hospitals in the island after they graduated in April this year. However, while they were expecting responses by July, they reportedly got rejection letters one month past that deadline.

The affected doctors also alleged that during a meeting on July 21 with Professor Colette Myrie, the then acting director in charge of the health ministry’s Health Planning and Integration Services Branch, they were told that certain protocols would be enforced, such as exclusion of candidates from institutions not accredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions. However, they insisted they were not told of the policy shift during their application process.

PLACED IN A PROGRAMME

Bisasor-McKenzie asserted that the health ministry placed interns into the programme from nine medical schools other than The University of the West Indies. She said that starting in September this year, the programme has graduates from 22 foreign medical schools, to include six in China, five in Cuba, seven offshore universities in the Caribbean, one in Mexico, and three in Eastern Europe.

“As we are having graduates from so many programmes, from so many countries, it is important that we ensure that there is an objective method of selection. For this application period, we are requesting that applicants indicate their passes in the Medical Council of Jamaica-recognised qualifying examinations,” said Bisasor-McKenzie.

“These are the Caribbean Association of Medical Councils (CAMC) examinations, United States Medical Licensing Examinations, and the Professional and Linguistics Assessments Board tests. We are looking at a phased approach to requiring passes in these examinations before internship,” Bisasor-McKenzie continued. “We will be working with the UWI Faculty of Medical Sciences to ensure that opportunities are available for courses to prepare for the CAMC exams.”

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com