The Queen Elizabeth HospitalL (QEH) is being accused of jeopardizing the future of a small group of medical students.
In an email circulated to the media yesterday, it was stated that the students’ fears are due to the hospital not offering them internship posts to complete their training.
The letter also claimed that non-Barbadian students were chosen for internships before them and called for the creation of more internship positions at the QEH.
The email said: “The hysteria and confusion that has been the story of the 2013 class of doctors is only a sign of what the future holds [if] the numbers to come in the following years are even greater.”
But QEH chief executive officer Dr Dexter James said the hospital was not to blame and would not compromise the quality of supervision and training of interns by taking in more than can be adequately handled.
“This is a capacity issue. We can’t take more than 30 posts,” said James, revealing that the QEH received 41 applications for internships this year.
A statement from the QEH said seven applicants, all Barbadians, have not been placed. James said the placement of interns was “not a QEH phenomenon”.
He added: “It is driven by the medical programme of the University of the West Indies.”
He stated the UWI Cave Hill campus had expanded its medical programme without regard for the capacity of the QEH in the first instance and alternative placement for these students.
He added that even if the QEH was able to expand the posts it would not be advisable for a doctor to have more than ten students at a time under their supervision.
James said there was a QEH Internship Committee which supervises this process and it had clear guidelines – “preference is given to the top Barbadian applicants from Cave Hill first and Barbadian applicants from other UWI campuses”.
He said all the interns are Barbadians. The communications specialist at the UWI, Chelston Lovell, said the issue was a complex one they were working to resolve. He said the campus and the Government of Barbados are seeking to finalize a memorandum of understanding which would address matters including internship placement.
“Going forward, the campus would be looking to grow the enrollment in tandem with hospital beds across the [Eastern Caribbean],” said Lovell, who noted that interns must train at a designated teaching hospital.
