Prospective Interns/House Officers
Association of Nigeria (PIHAN) Proposal for
the proper regulation of Medical Internship/
Housemanship

Critical Challenges been faced by
Prospective Interns/House Officers
There is an ongoing crisis in the Nigerian
Medical Internship/Housemanship placement
which has plagued its prospective interns/house
officers for years. The mandatory internship/
housemanship program is an extention of our
training, where we acquire more Prospective Interns/House Officers comprehensive clinical training as we are
dealing with the most sacred form of life,
human life and as such there is the very need
for us in the health sector to be efficient and
competent in all ramification. Having said that,
this mandatory one year program has virtually
become a stumbling block to prospective
interns/house officers as there are no well
structured and organised modalities put in
place for securing placement. You can imagine
a situation where a graduate from Medicine,
Pharmarcy, Medical Laboratory Science,
Radiography, Physiotherapy, Nutrition and
Dietitrics, Optometry will graduate from the
University after five or six years, will then stay
back at home for additional two to three years
or more pending when him/her secure
placement in any of the acreditted hospitals.
This unneccessary delay caused by the
irregularities in the process is uncalled for and
grossly unacceptable. To worsen the situation,
most hospitals are now in the habit of selecting
just a few from the thousands of the crowd that
put in for the application. In addition, most of
them sell their forms for as high as N5000,
N3000, and N2000, to all candidates only to
take less than 30 applicants from the thousands
that bought the form leaving the others
helpless after the release of the interview
results. Prospective interns/house officers risk
their life nation wide in the bid to attend
interview in various parts of the nation and at
the end of the day, they are disappointed, and
it is not a question of they not passing the
interview exams but most often, this can be
attributed to multiple factors such as not
having the connection, not having the funds to
probably pay for a slot, the politics that is
inherent in the hospital management board,
the small size capacity of the laboratory, for
instance which may not be able to cater for or
contain all the intern Med lab scientist, and so
many other unforeseen factors.
The most grievous of all is the the sales of
forms to thousands of candidates and end up
taking less than thirty (30) from the crowd,
together with the politics been played in the
entire process, which in most hospitals, the
process is far from transparent and merit.
From our own perspective, this appear to be
tantamount to exploiting and taking undue
advantage of the helpless candidates
financially, who are in dire need of securing
placement for the mandately one year
internsship/housemanship program which
precedes the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC). Because of this delay in the process of
securing placement, prospective interns/house
officers are going through hard times, wasting
at home, getting weary and are seen like
people who never actually graduated from
school since they are not going to service
immediately as this is what is obtainable
among fresh university graduates.
Again, the cumbersome predicament will
always results in a situation where by a
200level or 300level student in other discipline
outside medical field in the university will
graduate and go for service while a medical
graduate who must have graduated some two
to three years back will still be wasting at
home, no internship/housemanship, no service.
This is grossly unacceptable. Prospective
interns/house officers are therefore requesting
for the Federal government, National
University Commission and the various
governing bodies to urgently step into the
situation and resolve this crisis by regulating
internaship/housemanship for the entire
Medical graduates.
Having pointed out the enormous challenges
been faced by prospective interns/house
officers, below are some few recommndations
to aid in the regulation of the entire process
and bring to a permanent halt the worrysome
challenges.
Recommendations
1. There is the the need for the one year
internship/housemanship placement to be
regulated just like the National Youth Service
Corps, which therefore warrant a body to b set
up and charged with the duty of posting
medical graduates for the mandatory
internship/housemanship program.
2. The said body above will work closely with
the various governing council bodies/
universities to ensure the universities adhere
strictly to the regulation of the council bodies
as regards intake into the various disciplines, so
as to control the output which will b a function
of the number and available acredited
hospitals.
3. All hospital form for internship/
housemanship should be made free of charge
as obtainable in some few hospitals, since as
fresh graduates, we are not occupationally
engaged yet. Financially the cost of purchasing
a form for say for as high as N5000 may be
difficult for some individuals judging by the
status quo of our economy.
4. As a matter of urgency, Federal government
need to upgrade and properly equip our
hospitals to facilitate and enhance further
training of medical graduates as this is one of
the major setback in the entire process.
5. The examination is not neccessary when a
medical graduate is qualified and provisionally
licensed by their council body. However, should
it be, it has to be for only the few candidates
posted to the particular hospital. And should a
candidate fail, a resit exam may be considered
since the hospital capacity is still not filled up
yet. All this modalities will go a long way
curbing the unneccessary delay been
experienced by prospective interns/house
officers.
6. The maximum capacity of each acreditted
hospital will have to be on record so as to avoid
overflooding of a particular hospital.
7. Final exam in medical schools nationwide
should be administered quarterly and within a
certain period in a bid to synchronize the
graduation of new doctors and appropriate
placement within that period.
8. The medical council, NMA and the federal
government should come up with a structured
approach to implement the placement of newly
inducted doctors through matching of
candidates to various hospitals for internship.
9. If number seven above cannot be achieved,
the all teaching hospitals should be made to
absorb their doctors who pass at first sitting
and resit candidates should be matched to
various federal medical centers nationwide
including private hospitals.
10. The salary scheme and package for interns
in all hospitals should be synchronized to
reduce the monopoly of interest in certain
hospitals.
11. The governing council can also increase the
number of hospitals accredited for internship
placements so as to cater for the increasing
populace of graduating doctors.



www.medicalworldnigeria.com/2015/10/pihan-proposal-on-regulation-of-medical-internship-housemanship#.ViDfXOxViko

lalasticlala ishilove farano jaybee fynestboi please fp.

Nice one.....

It's quite disheartening gen I see that my mates whom we graduated together last year are still wallowing at home doing nothing but dying of depression, and its all due to nepotism, bureaucracy, racketeering and CORRUPTION!!!

I mean, why would a doctor or any other health practicioner, after spending years of spending on books, reading to die for exams, and would still pass marginally (because you don't pass in medical school, you satisfy the examiners), would now be jumping up and down from one hospital to another, not because of the money, but because you need to do the one-year compulsory house job to become fully registered into the council.

But nay, hearts would still be broken, suicide would still be attempted, and families would be ultimately bereaved....

Nice one bro

Lagusta:
Nice one.....

It's quite disheartening gen I see that my mates whom we graduated together last year are still wallowing at home doing nothing but dying of depression, and its all due to nepotism, bureaucracy, racketeering and CORRUPTION!!!

I mean, why would a doctor or any other health practicioner, after spending years of spending on books, reading to die for exams, and would still pass marginally (because you don't pass in medical school, you satisfy the examiners), would now be jumping up and down from one hospital to another, not because of the money, but because you need to do the one-year compulsory house job to become fully registered into the council.

But nay, hearts would still be broken, suicide would still be attempted, and families would be ultimately bereaved....

Nice one bro

Thanks for your contribution sir.. These are signs of a failed nation. Nigeria is on the brink of total collapse. Wonder what will happen in 10 years time...