Internship Reviews

Rural Allowance: No

Doctors Quarters:

• Can’t comment as never stayed in the DQ
• I’ve heard it’s not great and poorly serviced
• Unsure
• Did not stay there

Academics:

• Good teaching overall, very department, consultant and reg specific.
• Not much teaching
• Good teaching but affected by covid so no formal teaching in most departments
• Most rotations involve some kind of teaching. The academic programme has been hampered by Covid however most people are willing to still teach
• Excellent teaching in Paeds, HIV, Obs Gyn, Anaesthetics; frequent tuts and good registrars
• Depends on the department you are rotating in- obgyn, paeds, anaesthesia tend to provide academic meetings and practical sessions.
• Very little to no teaching. Only Departments that offer teaching are Obs and gynae, Paeds and Anaesthetics

Supervision:

• Supervision mostly great, barring a couple of dodgy registrars that would leave you on call alone, but this can happen at any hospital in the country. Even then, there was always someone else you could call.
• Almost too much supervision
• Always have supervision, typer of supervision varies with each person
• Almost always someone to help
• Rarely alone, good MO/ registrar/ consultant quality
• Academic hospital so there will always be someone on site more senior than you that can come assist in person or provide advice.
• Depends on Department. Always some sort of supervision available, but quality of it varies.

Clinical Exposure:

• Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa are great in that you get to see a wide variety of cases that don’t always require the specialisation and compartmentalisation of a hospital like CMJAH. There are still interesting and unusual cases but there is a fair share of the common things that occur commonly.
• Overly supervised, not much independence. You won’t get to cut in surgery unless you really push
• Learnt alot in various departments, you must take initiative
• While tertiary there is always opportunities to perform and get exposure if you’re willing. Again Covid has hampered the exposure to a point
• Very busy, varied pathologies however you are rarely alone in the “deep end”
• Varies from primary health care conditions to more complicated cases.
• Good exposure in most disciplines. ++clinical procedures. Surgery Theatre time, etc. Is dependent on the intern’s interest. Little to no ortho theatre time.

Social Scene:

• Almost non-existent intern social scene unless you bond and organise with your own small group.
• Dependent on your friends and colleagues and what u make of it. Much better in second year internship
• Not much by way of colleagues due to Covid but Jhb has many places to go out and about
• Very nice people but not a close knit community, no nice DQ culture
• Maybe not that vibey but still a big hospital with exposure to lots of collaegues opportunity to make lifelong friends.

Additional Comments:

• Internship is what you make of it. Not all hospitals and rotations are equal but if you have the right attitude you can still learn a great deal in any environment. Helen Joseph and Rahima Moose are excellent with regards to supervision but also allow a junior doctor to develop his/her own judgement and decision making skills. They provide a well balanced program on the whole.

• A good hospital for internship on overall, you work hard and learn alot

• Great supervision, good exposure, busy but balanced, central location and most of Fam Med is based at the main hospitals.

• Medicine is very reg dependent. No teaching for interns. A lot of admin. Team dependent. Calls can be hectic, especially ward calls.
  Surgery very team dependent. If you have a weak or lazy team, it will be rough. Also very reg dependent. Good exposure to procedures and theatre if you have a keen interest in surgery. Busy calls.
  Paediatrics has good senior support, lots of teaching. Approachable consultants who are around most of the time. Very structured and you get guidelines for common conditions. Calls can be hectic especially because of c/s Theatre, but is manageable most of the time, and the seniors will help you if needed. Done at RMMCH. Overall a hectic rotation but enjoyable and a decent quality of life during this time.
  OBS and gynae: worst rotation as an intern. Little support, tons of work, terrible work environment at RMMCH. Calls are a nightmare as you’re left on the floor alone during the night. 2 interns on call but 1 will be in theatre at all times. Days are just as hectic. ++stress throughout this rotation. C/s can be difficult to get due to pressure on seniors to push c/s list due to lots of emergencies. Gynae is a bit more manageable but still chaotic. On any given day, you are allocated to one place, but are required to do ward rounds, ward work, be at your allocation, help out in ANC, cover the ward patients. A lot of pressure all of the time. You do come out of it ready for anything though. And a little traumatised.
  Expect max 2 hrs rest during 24hr calls in Surgery, OnG and Paeds, and expect no rest during a medicine 12hr call, 1 quick meal during that time and an AKI.
  2nd year rotations are more tolerable and will leave you wondering what to do with your time.
  Family med is split between Discoverers CHC for 2 months and 1 month in polyclinic, ED, HIV clinic, and Paeds clinic. Decent quality of life. HJH ED can be hectic but you hlget a lot of support.
  Ortho has morning meetings for teaching but it’s aimed at Registrars. Good senior support, exposure to all the basics, no theatre exposure really.
  Psychiatry is well run, with exposure to all aspects. Great support and very structured department.