Health dept completes placement of nearly 10,000 medical commserv, internship applicants
The national department of health has successfully completed the process of allocating nearly 10,000 eligible medical interns and community service applicants placements.
The internship and community service program (ICSP) for the next annual intake is scheduled to commence in January 2023.
According to the department’s spokesperson Foster Mohale, a total of 9 647 eligible South African citizens and permanent residents who applied for both medical internship opportunities and community service opportunities, were successfully allocated to enhance services in the public health sector as part of the last phase of their academic program.
More than 2 000 candidates applied for medical internships while over 7 000 applied for community service.
The department says first priority was given to South African citizens who studied in local and foreign institutions of higher learning, followed by permanent residents and lastly foreign nationals.
“The online applications were processed between 14 and 28 October 2022 in accordance with the Internship and Community Service Placement guidelines, Public Service Regulations of 2016, Public Service Act, and the Immigration Act of 2002,” Mohale said.
At the same time, the spokesperson says as part of the government’s efforts to prioritise rural and underserviced communities, the majority of the applicants were placed in rural and semi-rural areas.
“The department has allocated 73.96% applicants to health facilities based in rural and semi-rural areas, while the remaining 26.04% is allocated in urban areas,” he said.
He says nearly 97% of the total applicants were allocated in their first five priority choices and just over 3 % were allocated outside their preferred five priority options.
The ICSP system has a functionality that allows the applicants to swap or exchange their allocated posts.
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