An evaluation of the medical internship programme at King Edward VIII hospital, South Africa in 2016

Abstract

Background: In 2005, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) extended the duration of the internship programme to ensure that all young medical graduates are adequately prepared to work at a district hospital during their year of community service. King Edward VIII hospital (KEH) is an HPCSA accredited training hospital, which has been training interns for many years. The aim of this study was to assess intern perceptions of their training at the hospital. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted at KEH in November 2016. A questionnaire was used to collect data, which were analysed descriptively. Results: Only 53% of interns completed the questionnaire. Although teaching and supervision were provided in all domains, perceptions of the quality ranged from excellent to poor. The majority of interns worked the 64-80 hours per month commuted overtime as required by the HPCSA. However, less than 10% expressed positive views regarding the condition of the facilities and infrastructure. Discussion and conclusions: The findings of this study were generally positive with regard to teaching, supervision and hours worked, mostly in accordance with the requirements of the HPCSA. However, a response rate of 53% as well as the single location of the study may limit generalisability and a larger study involving interns across the country is recommended.

Transitional challenges faced by medical intern doctors (IDs) in Vanuatu: a qualitative study

“…Intern’s welfare not met was seen as the first challenge echoed by the interns whereby they have expressed the need for accommodation, delay employment contracts and work without pay. The findings of this study were convenient to the other studies whom have reported that lacking the right support and having poor infrastructure that is not conducive for the wellbeing of the IDs brings disturbance to their learning [ 23 , 26 , 27 ]. Likewise, other studies have stated that when there is poor support in; hospital management, medical intern doctor’s welfare, hospital staff, and academic opportunities, it greatly impacts an ID’s transitional phase from being a medical student to becoming a registered doctor [ 24 , 28 ].…”

“…Rigor in this study was observed according to the Lincoln and Guba strategies of credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability [ 21 ]. Whereby in-depth interview questions as data collection tool were derived and formulated out from the previous academic sources and studies [ 22 , 23 ]. All participants were informed about the aim of study by telephone or email one week before conducting interviews.…”

Tools for measuring medical internship experience: a scoping review

“…To gain a better picture of this topic we recommend the use of additional tools on safety or safety climate as transforming organizational culture may be critical to improving patient outcomes. Also noteworthy for LMICs there should be questions on pay and remuneration, as together with infrastructure and resource adequacy these factors are commonly cited as reasons for poor internship experience [61].…”

Audiologists’ phenomenographic experiences of professional development during community service in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

“…On the contrary, Reid (2018) reported a lack of standardised guidelines for the implementation of the CSP from the National Department of Health within the South African context. The infrastructural inadequacies including poor supervision and large caseloads in public hospitals contributed to a growing dissatisfaction with the structure of the CSP (Ross, Naidoo, & Dlamini, 2018;Van Niekerk, 2012). The available literature on the CSP in South Africa (Khan et al, 2009;Reid, 2018;Ross et al, 2018;Van Niekerk, 2012) does not seem to discuss the significance of, and the need to standardise the minimum competencies for graduates to be certified as independent practitioners at the end of the CSP, particularly in audiology.…”

“…The infrastructural inadequacies including poor supervision and large caseloads in public hospitals contributed to a growing dissatisfaction with the structure of the CSP (Ross, Naidoo, & Dlamini, 2018;Van Niekerk, 2012). The available literature on the CSP in South Africa (Khan et al, 2009;Reid, 2018;Ross et al, 2018;Van Niekerk, 2012) does not seem to discuss the significance of, and the need to standardise the minimum competencies for graduates to be certified as independent practitioners at the end of the CSP, particularly in audiology. The key soft and hard skills, attitudes and knowledge required for audiologists to be considered fit for independent practice seems unclear and predominantly overlooked (Reid, 2018).…”