Pharmaceutical Society bosses clash over internship
Medical interns demonstrate outside the Ministry of Health head offices in Kampala on August 2, 2024. They demand being deployed for internships. PHOTO |ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- Dr Pamela Achii, the PSU president, told this publication yesterday that the notice was issued by “an individual and is not the position of the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda” as portrayed in the notice.
The president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU) has dismissed the notice where the society’s secretary asked undeployed intern pharmacists to apply for private internship placement.
Dr Pamela Achii, the PSU president, told this publication yesterday that the notice was issued by “an individual and is not the position of the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda” as portrayed in the notice.
“Deployment of medical interns is supposed to be done by the Ministry of Health. If we start deploying interns [as PSU Council] it can be a mess, cause exploitation, and also, it is the internship committee [at the Ministry of Health] that issues the internship completion letter and this means they have to be involved in the deployment process,” she said.
PSU, established by the Pharmacy and Drugs Act of 1970 and Cap 280 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, is governed by the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda, which consists of 12 members.
Dr Stephen Lutoti, the PSU secretary (also the secretary to the council), told this publication that the notice was an operational matter following the information from the government that there is no money to deploy the remaining medical interns.
“Let’s not confuse Ugandans; when I see a gap, I have to address it,” he said, adding: “This may not require sitting in board rooms and we may not get a consensus on some of these issues but these intern pharmacists need to move forward.”
Dr Lutoti said the PSU has the capacity and clear system for assessing the capacity of the health facilities that will train the interns. He said they administer exams before and after internship to ensure the quality of the pharmacists.
In Dr Lutoti’s notice dismissed by Dr Achii, intern pharmacists for the 2024/2025 cohort were asked to apply for internships, which would be done in private and public hospitals in addition to external rotations to drug manufacturing facilities.
Details in the notice also show that the hospital’s pharmacist will also supervise external rotations at the facilities in pharmaceutical manufacturing industries/pharmaceutical importers/drug regulatory settings, among others.
Dr Lutoti further said in the notice that with the support of the internship supervisor, all identified sites “will be approved by PSU before you start the internship.”
The exchange between Dr Achii and Dr Lutoti also comes a few weeks after the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa proposed that medical degree holders who can meet their internship cost should be given a go-head if the government insists there is no money for deployment.
