The Uganda Medical Association (UMA) has rejected the National Education and Training for Health Policy, saying it was rushed and did not consult all stakeholders. Dr. Christopher Kabwiru, head of thoracic surgery at Mulago Hospital and vice president of the association, said that the government did not consult all relevant professional health bodies before drafting the policy.
The policy proposes the incorporation of internships for medical students into the academic training process. But Dr. Kabwiru said an internship is not part of the medical academic curriculum. He added that the five-year training period should remain unchanged, and the one-year internship after graduation should continue to be treated as an independent phase.
Dr. Frank Asiimwe Rubabinda, President of the association, urged the Ministry of Health to deploy and pay the current pre-interns. He also urged the courts to expedite the case of 300 interns and senior house officers whose government contracts have gone unpaid since August last year, warning that if the government fails to settle the payments by July 30, the amounts owed should attract interest.
Jacob Mwadha, president of the Federation of Uganda Medical Interns (FUMI), said that upon enrollment, medical interns sign contracts binding them to several professional standards as medical practitioners. He urged the government to prioritize the concerns of interns, noting that they carry out the bulk of hospital work.
He added that there are currently 2,245 interns distributed across 74 hospitals nationwide and warned that the government should not risk taking them off payroll for a year, given their critical role in caring for the large numbers of patients in government hospitals.
Dr. Stephen Lutoti, secretary of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU), said the policy’s introduction falsely claims adequate consultation with all public and private stakeholders, a claim he called untrue and one doctors cannot support. He said the policy is built on misinformation, including a characterization of medical interns as students, which the relevant medical governing bodies reject-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
