It is the individual responsibility of medical school graduates to explore all avenues for employment, considering the limited number of posts in the public sector, says Minister of Health Donville Inniss.
He made the comments as he toured the American University of Barbados School of Medicine(AUB) yesterday.
“People have to realize that the state cannot be the sole employer and if the state has provided you with a sound education the onus ought to be on you to seek to find employment opportunities wherever they might exist,” Inniss said.
The Minister of Health explained that there was currently a shortage of places for doctors at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and he projected that in the next five to ten years the situation would not improve.
“The situation is not what it was like 20 to 30 years ago when being a doctor was a rarity; today it is now a part of the norm.
“The number of graduates coming out of the University of the West Indies (UWI) medical school here in Barbados may be more than the number of posts available in the public sector. . . . [That challenge] . . . has to be addressed on two fronts: expand capacity in the public sector and private sector and to see them as an investment you make where they can go abroad and work, develop their skills and ultimately still make a contribution to Barbados,” Inniss said.
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