A question of degrees

HARVARD University in the US boasts the best medical school in the world. It has had this distinction for the past few years. In fact, the US boasts 20 of the top 50 medical schools in the world and 89 of the top 500.

UCT makes it somewhere in the top 150 while Wits University ranks among the top 200.

China also has top medical universities, most notably Peking University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Both are ranked in the top 100.

However, these are not the foreign universities wannabe doctors from South Africa study at.

The universities they choose are generally a lot easier to get into. You most certainly don’t need to have six As in matric to study medicine at these places and, for a child whose parents are desperate for them to study medicine, they are good options.

Although still costing hundreds of thousands of rand a year, they are relatively inexpensive and certainly much cheaper than you would pay to study and live in the US.

Some parents said they forked out almost R1 million for their child to study in China and India. But, given what specialists charge these days in private practice, it would be a great return on investment.

However, being in a financial position to study overseas does not translate into automatic acceptance into our own health-care system on return to South Africa, however flawed that system may be at the moment.

If students do not meet the required standards, they should not be allowed to practice locally. It is as simple as that.

Doctors deal with people’s lives. A mistake on their part could result in death, causing anguish and potential claims against the state which, ultimately, become a burden on the taxpayer.

The authorities have long pointed out that many of the Chinese universities South African students opt to study medicine at are not recognised.

Yet, every year, more students make the trip east. Are they blinded by their passion to serve mankind or are there other factors at play?

Whatever the case, we can’t compromise on standards and stand with the government on this issue.