LEARNING EXPERIENCES OF THE
Date
2011-05-11
Authors
Skosana, Tabisile Yvonne
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Abstract
When the new government took over in 1994, it had to transform health services in line with
the Primary Health Care (PHC) approach, ensuring the provision of equitable health services.
In order to address the shortage of doctors, the governments of the Republics of South Africa
and Cuba signed a Declaration of Intent (DOI) in 1996 on cooperation in the field of Health.
One component of this cooperation was to train previously disadvantaged South Africans
from rural areas in Cuba.
Ten years ago, thirty South Africans from Gauteng with others from other provinces, were
sent to Cuba to study medicine. For six years these medical students were groomed in the
Cuban health care system which focuses on prevention and wellness. In the seventh year of
their training they returned to South Africa to complete the course in an environment that
emphasizes curative services and strong clinical competency. They had to learn, catch up
with and master clinical skills that their South African counterparts have been honing for years.
Because they were trained in one system and expected to practice in another, they had to readapt
to local universities and health care system. The research question was to what extent,
if any, have these students been able to integrate their learning into the South African health
care system?
The purpose of this research was to investigate the learning experiences of the Gauteng
medical students in the South African Cuban Medical Training programme. It utilized an
interpretive qualitative design using a semi-structured questionnaire. Eight (8) South African
Cuban trained doctors who were in the South African Cuban Medical Training programme
and four (4) registrars from Gauteng health facilities were purposefully selected and
interviewed.
However, the findings indicate that this programme faces a variety of problems mainly poor
communication between stakeholders. In order for this programme to function as intended,
communication between stakeholders has to be improved. An underlying problem identified
is the inability of disadvantaged South Africans to meet the entrance requirements for local
medical universities. The policy on university entry needs to be reviewed
Description
MM - P&DM
Keywords
Medical students, Health services, Education, medical