Doctors Stage Protests Outside Health CS Nakhumicha’s Office
On Monday, February 12, doctors who had recently graduated held protests in front of the Ministry of Health Headquarters located at Afya House in Nairobi. They were seeking a meeting with Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha.
Among their complaints is the postponement of their placement as medical interns, even though they have completed their studies and fulfilled other necessary criteria.
The team of newly graduated physicians was accompanied by medical students under the guidance of Ramesh Saxena, the Governor of the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Health Sciences.
In a conversation with Gossipa2z, Saxena expressed that they participated in the protests because the postponement directly affected the timing of their graduation posting.
As per the guidelines set by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), graduates in the fields of medicine and dentistry are required to undergo a 13-month internship program after completing their studies.
“We hope that in participating in this peaceful protest, we shall secure the timely posting of these interns, and restore the faith in medical students for a brighter future,” Saxena remarked.
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The National Guidelines for Internship Training of Medical and Dental Officer Interns (2019) provides a comprehensive explanation of the process for assigning interns.
“Interns shall be posted within a month upon successful completion of their training and passing of the final examination, graduation notwithstanding; or passing of Council’s Internship Qualifying Exams,” the guidelines read in part.
The interns should begin receiving their salaries two months after the start of the internship program.
It was stated that the majority of recently graduated doctors completed their studies in July 2023. However, there was a lack of information from the Ministry of Education regarding their placement or assignment.
In December 2022, a comparable confrontation occurred between graduate doctors and both the national and county governments.
At that moment, to prevent a strike, CS Nakhumicha instructed the gradual deployment of medical interns, starting from January 2023.
The Civil Service has not yet issued a comparable instruction regarding the graduate doctors who are protesting to secure internship positions.
Doctors Stage Protests Outside Health CS Nakhumicha’s Office
