UB sponsored students return as medical doctors

They are joined by four government sponsored interns. The University established mutually beneficial training arrangements with four universities in South Africa and two in Australia where medical students were sent after part one of their science-based studies at the University.

This is the second batch of medical doctors under the auspices of the UB pre-medical programme who have returned to Botswana as medical doctors. The first group of 13 doctors came back to Botswana one year ago.

They were immediately dispatched to medical facilities in Botswana for an internship programme before they could register as doctors. All 13 are currently working as Medical Officers in the referral hospitals. Botswana has now established its own medical school which will supervise medical students until they qualify as medical doctors. Thirty-six of the students who enter the Pre-medical programme in August of this year will be the first class to graduate from UB in 2014. The 21 doctors are currently undergoing a thorough one-year internship programme before they could qualify as Medical Doctors. Of these student doctors, some are doing their internship at the Princess Marina Hospital while others are at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in Francistown. Eight students graduated from the University of Kwazulu-Natal, three from the University of Free State and five from both University of Cape Town and the University of Pretoria. There are six females out of the 21 interns. 

The first graduates emerging out of the Pre-medical Science Programme started service in government referral hospitals in January 2007, according to the Head of the Medical School, Dr. Major Bradshaw. He said that during the internship the student doctors will be exposed to practical aspects of being a medical doctor covering areas such as paediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynaecology, and other critical areas.  The interns will attend workshops/lectures organised by the Faculty of Health Sciences and the physicians in the Ministry of Health in both Gaborone and Francistown. The Coordinator of the internship programme is Dr Oatlhokwa Nkomazana. Dr Bradshaw said effective August 2008, the University of Botswana under the School of Medicine will enroll 60 Pre-medical students. As mentioned above, 36 will remain at UB for their medical education. The others will transfer to partner schools as in the past. The Faculty of Health Sciences building is currently under construction and plans for the new Academic Hospital are well underway. With the introduction of the Medical School of the University of Botswana, the Government will gradually send fewer students to pursue their medical programmes outside the country.

Director of Public Affairs
Date: January 23rd, 2008