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View all search resultsIntern deaths prompt overhaul of medical training system
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Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin gestures as he speaks during a hearing with House of Representatives Commission IX in Senayan, Jakarta, on March 28, 2023. The meeting focused on the health digital transformation strategy and revitalization of primary health service starting from posyandu (community health centers). (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
T
he Health Ministry has pledged to overhaul Indonesia’s medical internship program to ensure fewer working hours and adequate leave, following the deaths of four intern doctors in just two months amid mounting scrutiny over overwork in the system.
The statement came after the death of Sriwijaya University intern doctor Myta Aprilia Azmy on May 1. She had suffered a lung infection but continued working without taking sick leave, even as her condition worsened. Her death marks the fourth case this year, with three other interns dying in March alone across different regions.
At a recent press conference in Jakarta, the ministry revealed violations in the implementation of the internship program at KH Daud Arif Regional Hospital (RSUD) in Jambi, where Myta had been assigned since February, following an investigation launched shortly after her death.
One identified violation was excessive working hours. During ward rotations, interns reportedly worked every day without rest days. They were also assigned tasks that should have been handled by permanent doctors.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stressed during the briefing on Thursday that intern doctors are not substitutes for permanent physicians, but trainees under supervision.
“They cannot, and must not, replace doctors. Yet in practice, that is what is happening. [...] This is not permitted. The principle is clear: interns must be supervised at all times and can never be treated as substitutes for permanent physicians,” Budi said.
Read also: Fourth intern doctor death in two months fuels calls for reform
