The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has denied reports that the government had scrapped the monthly stipend paid to interns during their mandatory 12-month internship programme.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, KMPDU Secretary General, Davji Bhimji Atellah, dismissed claims by medical graduates that they would be subjected to mandatory but unpaid internships.
According to Atellah, the medical interns will receive a second letter upon accepting the first offer letter. According to KMPDU, the second letter will indicate the amount each intern will get per month.
“Discussions are ongoing to clear the confusion arising from the first letter. We understand that there is a lot of work in the medical industry and asking interns to work without pay would be unfair,” Atellah stated.
However, this is different from the process followed in the previous years where graduates were given all the information in one letter.
Students have been patiently waiting for their posting letters since September 2021. Their excitement was cut short upon realizing that a clause that indicated the monthly stipend each intern would get was missing.
According to Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) guidelines, the waiting period for the medical posting letters should not exceed two months.
In comparison to the previous posting letters, the 2022 posting letter did not indicate whether there will be any remuneration for the medical interns.
Degree nurses posting letters in 2020 read: “You will be paid Ksh38,270 per month. You will also be entitled to allowances which are applicable to the internship offer.”
Subsequently the following year, the letters read that each nursing intern would receive a basic monthly salary of Ksh37,070.
The letter dated July 13, directed that each intern should signify their acceptance within the stipulated time of a month or risk losing the opportunity.
“Please signify your acceptance of this offer by completing and returning the duplicate of this letter within fourteen (14) days thereof. In the event that no response is received from you within the stipulated period, it will be assumed that you have declined to take the offer and the offer will lapse automatically,” read the letter in part.
