Like an Indian saga that refuses to deliver its ending to the public, the crisis in medicine is entering another turmoil. Undertaking another attempt to convince medical students to return to university, the Minister of Higher Education, Abdellatif Miraoui, declared that “there is no attack on the academic and legal value of the doctor’s degree in medicine”, calling for “providing the additional explanations necessary to students concerning the new educational organization of medical training by organizing extended meetings of educational commissions from faculty councils, with broad student involvement”.
Bone of contention: the duration of the training, refusing to shorten it to 6 years, the “future doctors” qualify this decision as “blurry” and “ senseless“, due to the importance of the internships carried out in the 7th year.
In the eyes of the minister, this decision proves crucial, in order to convince the students, Miraoui presents his proposal via the Mediator of the Kingdom institution, “according to the formula of October 18, 2024, there is no attack on the academic and legal value of the doctor of medicine diploma from the point of view of the legal basis of the national diploma of ‘doctor of medicine’nor to the generally recognized standards of training programs in general medicine in terms of hourly volume of training and types of clinical internships as well as their durations”.
The document also states that the 2+5 (seven years) medical training system applies to cohorts enrolled in the medical stream in 2018-2019 and before, noting that “the hourly volume of theoretical training in this system was set at 2,600 hours, while the hourly volume of internships was 2,100 hours, making a total of 4,700 hours for the entire training”.
As for the 1+5 (six years) medical training system which applies to cohorts enrolled in the medical sector from 2019-2020 until 2023-2024, the same source specifies that “the hourly volume of theoretical training was set at 2,500 hours and that of internships at 3,600 hours, i.e. a total of 6,100 hours for the entire training”. The same document also highlights that the 2+4 (six years) medical training system, applicable to cohorts enrolled in the medical sector from 2024-2025, has set the hourly volume of theoretical training at 2,580 hours and that internships to 3,765 hours, bringing the total to 6,345 hours for the entire training.
Based on this information and calculations, some blame the demonstrators by accusing them of “senseless heroic acts”, the latest, the Moroccan actress Sanaa Akroud who, in turn, called on medical students to end the boycott .
For students registered in the faculties of medicine and pharmacy and concerned by the educational organization (1+5), the document specifies that they will benefit from additional optional clinical internships in hospital departments, highlighting that the duration of each clinical internship will last 3 months, and students wishing to do several will be able to complete 1 to 4 internships (i.e. a full year).
The ministry’s proposal indicates, in addition, that the locations of clinical internships are validated by the common regional committees for coordinating training in health professions, and that the administration responds to requests for internships expressed by students, in taking into account the positions available and the criteria defined by the common regional training coordination committee. In addition, the students concerned will benefit from the same compensation as that received by sixth-year students during their internships.
Towards the end of the crisis? This same proposal clarifies that these internships can be carried out after the sixth year and before the defense of the thesis, and that they will be validated by a certificate appearing in the annex to the diploma, while emphasizing that a clear legal situation will be given to the student trainee in this context, as stipulated in the decree relating to the status of student trainees in public health establishments under territorial health groups.
The offer also specifies that the hourly volume of clinical internships will be increased for each remaining level of training (third, fourth, fifth and sixth years), with the elimination of dead periods. It is stated that “the reorganization of clinical internships in the sixth year provides for an annual hourly volume of 44 weeks, in addition to training in family medicine (increase in hourly volume from 300 to more than 600 hours per year)”.
Internships, the protesters’ hobby horse. The ministry highlights the increase in the hourly volume of clinical internships for the third, fourth and fifth year levels, with an annual volume of 36 weeks (going from 500 hours in the old system to more than 1,000 hours in the new system) , as well as the programming of training modules in family medicine using simulation and telemedicine.
Concerning the opening of communication channels with students within their faculties, the ministry specifies that it is necessary to provide students with additional explanations on the new educational organization of medical training by organizing extended meetings of the educational commissions of the faculty advice, with broad student involvement.
The same source indicates that it is essential to answer students’ questions and listen to their proposals regarding practical measures and their application, in order to guarantee the quality of training, to facilitate administrative procedures, and to respect the teaching skills of teacher-researchers and the organizational structures of faculties and universities.
The document also highlights the need to strengthen student reception mechanisms in order to listen to their requests, requests or complaints, and transmit them to the competent authorities so that they can take appropriate measures.
