Medical interns reportedly restive as JMDA demands end to ‘exploitative’ working conditions

The Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association (JMDA) is raising concerns over what it describes as poor working conditions facing medical interns across the island, warning that severe staff shortages are placing both healthcare workers and patients at risk.

The association has called on doctors and supporters to wear blue on Wednesday, June 24, in a show of solidarity with interns who are reportedly restive.

In a statement today, Dr Renee Badroe, President of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA), highlighted the concerns, including the significant reduction in the number of interns working within medical facilities islandwide.

This, she said, has created significant human resource and clinical challenges and has posed substantial challenges to service delivery. It has also increased the psychological and physical toll on medical teams.

“In many facilities, our interns are working for 24- to 32-hour periods on alternate days. There are interns who are working up to 56 consecutive hours,” Badroe said.

She noted that these work schedules are inconsistent with the stipulations outlined in the Policies and Procedures Manual for the Medical Internship and Senior House Officer Programme.

“We are calling for the immediate cessation of these exploitative hours of work, which violate these guidelines. We have received reports of our interns experiencing motor vehicle accidents and falling ill from sheer exhaustion,” she said.

In September last year, several China-trained doctors complained that their internship applications in Jamaica were reportedly rejected. The Ministry of Health and Wellness said the programme was already oversaturated, with 500 applications received.

Dr Jacqueline Bisasor-McKenzie, Jamaica's Chief Medical Officer, said at the time that more than 250 interns had been placed on the programme within the previous three years.

However, the JMDA said that the reduction in interns is also threatening the development of clinical acumen during the internship period.

It noted that medical officers believe interns are unable to adequately hone their key clinical skills because of the significant increase in workload associated with the decreased intern-to-service ratio.

It added that this has far-reaching implications for patient safety and the quality of clinical training.

Badroe highlighted that 90 candidates successfully passed their examinations in the most recent sitting of the MBBS Programme at the University of the West Indies, some of whom will be returning to their home countries. The association said that, based on its investigations, a significant increase in the number of graduates from the university is not expected until 2029.

“Without urgent intervention, the shortage of interns will continue to pressure an already strained healthcare system and the medical professionals who serve within it. Their absence places additional strain on existing staff and contributes to increased workloads, longer working hours and challenges in maintaining efficient service delivery,” she said.

The JMDA is calling on the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to address the issues by creating additional internship posts and temporarily shifting tasks through the contracting of Senior House Officers and Medical Officers to conduct sessions to supplement intern coverage.

It also pressed for improvements in rest and overnight facilities, stating that these facilities are entirely absent in some institutions, inadequate in others where interns are required to share beds, and, in some locations, have experienced recurrent flooding with sewage and inadequate sanitisation.

“Our interns play a vital role in our medical team and the future sustainability of the healthcare system. The JMDA stands ready to have meaningful engagement with our key stakeholders in identifying and implementing feasible solutions in the ensuing weeks,” Badroe said.

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