A group of around 250 junior foreign-trained doctors – 70% of whom failed their board exams – say they have found discrepancies in their examination scripts, and are embroiled in a renewed wrangle with the Health Professions Council of SA in efforts to view their papers.
The doctors, who wrote their exams in October 2023 and February 2024, has written to the Information Regulator to compel the HPCSA to release their scripts, writes Yoliswa Sobuwa for Health-e News.
The group has been supported by the South African International Trained Health Professionals Association (SAITHPA).
“We have been trying to access the scripts when we realised there was a high rate of doctors who had failed. The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) only gave them an hour to view their scripts. In that short period of time, they managed to see discrepancies,” says Advocate Rene Govender, on behalf of the association.
Previously the medical board examinations were administered by Sefako Makgatho University, but last year the HPCSA signed a new contract with UKZN to manage these exams for the next three years.
Govender said that previously, they would get video and written recordings of the exams.
An application for a full examination record was made last year after the first board exams in October, but this was declined by the HPCSA, which said that copyrights to the examination records are held by UKZN.
“Suddenly when the exams moved to UKZN, they didn’t want to provide us with these recordings. HPCSA says we can have view the records but the time is limited. The few junior doctors who had the opportunity to see their records were not satisfied and they complained about discrepancies,” Govender added.
When the exams were written at Sefako Makgatho University, the pass rate was between 60% and 80%.
“The HPCSA has confirmed it will not release the exam records in the format we requested (video and written records), which is allowed in terms of the legislation,” Govender said
UKZN told Health-e News that all queries regarding medical board exams have to be referred to HPCSA as the custodian of the exam.
Hopes dashed
One of the those wanting to see his script studied at Astrakhan State Medical University in Astrakhan, southern Russia. He was one of the group which marched to HPCSA offices in September 2023 after the council failed to conduct board exams for foreign-trained doctors because of an expired contract.
He sat for his board exam in October 2023, but two weeks later was told he had failed.
“I was excited when HPCSA finally allowed us to write. However, the scope of the exams was changed seven days before we wrote. It was not the one they had previously sent. HPCSA sends you a scope of the exams 30 days before the exams.”
To write the board exams he had to pay R12 000, which was paid for by the government that sponsored his studies. Re-writing the exams would cost him an additional R12 000 from his own pocket.
The group consists of doctors who trained at universities in China, Russia, Mauritius and Italy, funded by the provincial Governments of Mpumalanga, Free State and Gauteng.
Another junior doctor, who also studied in Russia, first wrote the board exams in October and was told she had failed.
“It was a difficult exam and I felt that some of the questions asked could be answered by someone who is already practising. However, I did my best and was disappointed when I was told I had failed. I made an appeal to HPCSA through my lawyer and had to wait for the results,” she said.
While waiting for the results of the appeal, she registered to rewrite the exams in March, and paid another R12 000. She passed.
“Then I also discovered I had passed the first exam and I am now fighting to get my refund.”
Protecting the public
An official in the national Health Department said that some provinces send students to study medicine abroad without checking the alignment of what is offered there with local requirements.
HPCSA spokesperson Priscilla Sekhonyana said the council has a mandate to protect the public.
“It is important for the council to administer the medical board examination as a form of evaluation to assess whether foreign qualified applicants possess the knowledge, skill and minimum competence to practise their profession. Failure to pass … may imply among others that the quality of training obtained by foreign qualified candidates may not be of the required standards set by the medical and dental professions board.”
She said practitioners holding foreign qualifications must submit the foreign curriculum for review by the professional boards.
“This is to establish whether the education, training standards and the duration of study undertaken is equivalent to the education and training standard awarded by South African educational institutions.”
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