New Zealand university declining medical students’ Malta trainee internships over scam ‘concerns’

A leading university in New Zealand has said it is declining electives its medical students are earning in Malta for trainee internships because they have been spending minimal time actually training and honing their medical skills in the hospital.

Kiwi medical students at the University of Otago and University of Auckland receive a $26,756 government stipend to fund their final year internships. Usually, this is paid in monthly instalments; however, sometimes a lump sum is paid

Students have to complete a three-month placement, which can be done either in New Zealand or abroad. This would also include a one-week journey to and from the placement. The idea behind this is for the students to gain hands-on experience before becoming registered doctors.

But the medical students have allegedly been using fake documents to instead go on holiday while pretending to be on mandatory work placements overseas.

A University of Otago spokeswoman last week said that the university has declined electives warned in countries “where concerns have been raised.”

“This,” she said, “includes Malta, because from elective reports it seemed the students were spending minimal time in the hospital.”

The allegations suggest some interns choose specific medical centres in Belize, Bosnia and Italy, where they could get their placement signed-off – sometimes for cash – after only a week.

The reports on the issue make no specific mention of payments against fake-placements or for falsifying time spent working at the hospital in Malta in particular, but specifies that students placed in Malta spent “very little time in the actual hospital,” leaving speculation open ended as to whether there is a scam going on or just a failure to keep proper tabs on the Kiwi trainee interns.

The University of Otago spokeswoman said the institution was “taking these concerns seriously.”

Reports read that Fraser Jeffery, president of New Zealand Medical Students’ Association, is aware of the situation but cannot comment until the investigation concludes. He did, however, stress the importance of students under investigation being given a fair process.

A University of Auckland spokeswoman said that the university is not aware any of their students having falsified elective documents.

In addition, students must book all travel through the university travel service to be eligible for university insurance, which means that such travel is tracked. Reports read that the students must also declare all countries visited and the number of days, attend a pre-elective planning meeting with their New Zealand advisor, submit a detailed elective report and meet with members of the elective committee to discuss their placement on their return.

“We are confident that this amount of reporting would make it difficult to falsify an elective experience,” she said. “Ultimately, it comes down to trust – of our students and the medical professionals who are their host supervisors.”