The Fiji Medical Association has expressed concerns regarding the quality of doctors graduating from the country’s internship programs. This issue was brought to light during the association’s annual conference held at the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa over the weekend.
Dr. Sailosi Ratumaitavuki, a member of the executive council, delivered a presentation titled “The Fiji Medical Internship Program – FMA’s Wide Consultation,” where he outlined the current two-year medical internship program in Fiji. The aim of the consultation was to address rising concerns from stakeholders within the medical community.
Medical professionals voiced their worries about the preparedness of graduates entering the internship phase, as well as the challenges of supervising a large number of interns with limited supervisory staff. They also highlighted a lack of clinical exposure for interns, who are facing reduced case loads due to overcrowded rotations and outdated infrastructure that cannot accommodate the increasing number of interns and a growing population.
These factors, they argued, are affecting the overall quality of the doctors being trained. Dr. Ratumaitavuki noted that the FMA has engaged various stakeholders, including medical schools, hospital management, supervisors, interns, and medical students, in addressing these issues.
Multiple focus groups, surveys, and interviews were conducted, and data was also collected from the Health Ministry and the FMDC Standards Committee as part of this consultation process. Dr. Ratumaitavuki mentioned that similar concerns were consistently reported across all medical divisions in the central, eastern, northern, and western regions.