Erlyn A. Sana
National Teacher Training Center for the Health Professions
University of the Philippines Manila
G/F Paz Mendoza Building, Pedro Gil Street, Ermita, Manila 1000
http://doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.2000.5410
Abstract
Among the members of the health team, physicians are accorded the highest prestige. Societies depend on them for their rational authority on matters related to health and disease. For this reason, medical centers are always expected to implement a curriculum that would train and prepare the most competent physicians.
This paper describes the long and tedious process of the final year of clinical internship at the country’s top medical center, the University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital Medical Center (UP-PGH). In the process, it was able to describe the various traditions that are socially reproduced in the course of training. It also explains the different social structures involved in the process of socially reproducing future medical professionals.
It is a descriptive study that gathered qualitative data from direct observations of interns and clerks during their rotation in UP-PGH. Key informant interviews, survey questionnaires, and a review of secondary data were also conducted. The study was started in 1997 and completed in 1999.