How do doctors and dentists experience their community service?
The main objective of a study initiated by Africa Health Placements was to review the experiences of the 2009 cohort of Community Service doctors and dentists, the factors that are related to that experience and the relation with their plans for the future. Furthermore, the study aimed to make recommendations for improvement of CS in order to meet its objectives.
Community Service
Achieving equity in the distribution of healthcare professionals, especially doctors, between urban and rural areas is an important priority for the Department of Health (DoH) in South Africa. This issue has been addressed through a number of strategies, including the introduction of compulsory Community Service (CS). The main objective of CS is to ensure improved provision of health services to all the citizens of the country. In the process this also provides young professionals with an opportunity to develop skills, acquire knowledge, behaviour patterns and critical thinking that will help them in their professional development. It was hoped that this policy would also address the emigration of qualified doctors, the lack of South African doctors in the public service working in rural or peripheral hospitals, as well as the public/private health sector imbalances. In addition, it was hoped that the exposure of doctors to a setting most in need and with minimal resources would positively influence the choice of doctors to work in these settings in the future.
Study on experiences
The main objective of the study initiated by Africa Health Placements was to review the experiences of the 2009 cohort of CS doctors and dentists, the factors that are related to that experience and the relation with their plans for the future. Furthermore, the study aimed to compare these results with those of other studies that have been conducted, and to make recommendations for improvement of CS in order to meet its objectives. This cross-sectional study was conducted among the group of medical and dental CS officers (n= 1391) who had started their CS before the beginning of July 2009. Results have not yet been released to the public.