internship (medicine) internship (medicine) a medical intern is a physician in training who has completed medical school and has a medical degree but does not yet have a license to practice medicine unsupervised. medical education generally ends with a period of practical training similar to internship, but the way the overall program of academic and practical medical training is structured differs depending upon the country, as does the terminology used (see medical education and medical school for further details). australia in australia, medical graduates must complete one year in an accredited hospital post before they receive full registration. this year of conditional registration is called the intern year. an internship is not necessarily completed in a hospital at the same state as the graduate's medical school. brazil in brazil, medical school consists of six years or twelve semesters. the final two years (or one and a half years, depending on the university in question) are the internship. during this time, students work extensive hospital hours and do basic hospital work while supervised by residents and staff. this period is usually divided among internal medicine, surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency medicine, family medicine, and a final elective period in which the student chooses an area for further experience. on conclusion of the internship, the student becomes a doctor and may work unsupervised or enter a residency program to gain a specialty. chile after high school, a medical education in chile takes seven years—five years as a medical student and two years as an intern, earning the degree of médico cirujano (equivalent to general practitioner in the usa). internships minimally include the four basic specialties (internal medicine, general surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, and pediatrics). after completing the internship, the new physician may work in primary care, hospitals, or apply to residencies for a specialty. dr congo dr congo has a two-year internship program for public health schools. many hospitals employ doctors prior to their full registration with the medical council (cnom). ecuador after finishing high school, students may apply to medical school. medical school generally consist of six years of medical school. the final year is an internship, in which students rotate through surgical and clinical specialties. completing the program earns the student the title of médico cirujano (equivalent to general practitioner in the usa). additionally, a doctor must complete one year of community medicine to obtain a medical register and license from the public health ministry (msp). after this, the md may enter a residency or apply to a specialty. egypt before 2018 and upon graduating from a six-year medical school, students undergo one year of internship or clerkship training at a university or teaching hospital, officially known as the national compulsory medical internship program. during this year, a graduate must complete two-month rotations in each of general surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology and emergency-anesthesiology. they also must complete one-month rotations in a sub-specialty of their choice in internal medicine and/or surgery. after 2018 the length of medical school has been reduced to five years and the internship has been extended to two years. on completion of the internship they take the egyptian medical licensing examination (emle) and they are licensed to practice. germany legal qualification as a doctor in germany, from 1988 to 2004, required that students serve as “arzt im praktikum” (physician in internship) for 18 months. in 2004, germany repealed this regulation. since then doctors of medicine, who successfully finish their medical studies received legal qualification and the status of assistant doctor immediately when taking up a medical occupation. however, they cannot enter private practice or work unsupervised until they receive a facharzt (full board certification) in their chosen specialty. ghana the housemanship (internship period) is a two-year period after graduating from medical school during which newly qualified doctors, practice under supervision in designated hospitals in the country. this involves six month rotations each in medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics, in no particular order. alternatively, a houseman may opt to do a rotation in anesthesia or psychiatry in place of one of the traditional four rotation areas. during this period the houseman (intern) holds provisional registration status with the ghana medical and dental council. after the student successfully completes the housemanship, they receive full registration status and the rank of medical officer (m.o.). india after 4.5 years of medical school to earn their mbbs degree, every doctor in india must complete a one-year compulsory rotating medical internship in various specialties to achieve permanent registration from the national medical commission (nmc) as a physician licensed to practice as a primary care doctor throughout india. indonesia every medical graduate from an indonesian public or private university, or from an overseas-approved institution, after an adaptation process, must apply for internship registration to the indonesian medical council (konsil kedokteran indonesia (kki)). after the council approves their application, an intern must apply to the ministry of health (moh) for an internship position. after the moh accepts the application, the intern serves supervised rotations in a hospital emergency department, hospital inpatient/outpatient and public primary healthcare. after completing the internship, they receive an internship completion certificate (surat tanda selesai internsip, stsi) from the moh—which is the requirement for full registration in the kki. a full registered doctor can practice as a general practitioner or pursue postgraduate education for a specialty and sub-specialty. year months 123456789101112 before 2020 rotation 1 rotation 2 rotation 3 hospital emergency department hospital inpatient/outpatient public primary healthcare public primary healthcare hospital emergency department hospital inpatient/outpatient hospital inpatient/outpatient public primary healthcare hospital emergency department since 2020 hospital rotation phc rotation emergency department inpatient/outpatient inpatient/outpatient emergency department public primary healthcare iran in iran, a seven-year medical education ends with an 18-month internship in a university hospital. on completing the internship, a person may work independently as a medical doctor (md) or take the national comprehensive residency exam and continue studies in a specialty. if they decide to work as a general practitioner, they must first complete compulsory service in areas the iranian ministry of health has designated as under-served. the internship rotates through all major and minor specialties, including emergency medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, surgery, dermatology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, infectious diseases, and psychiatry. iraq in iraq, graduates of a six-year medical program start a two-year internship in a hospital. the first year is divided into three months in specialties: internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, and pediatrics. in the second year, students must finish various-length courses in sub-specialties (radiology, ophthalmology, psychiatry, etc.). after the two-year internship, doctors may practice independently. at that point, they must practice in under-served areas for one year—after which they may apply to study a specialty. (this information is in accordance with the graduation law for medical professionals of the iraqi ministry of health for 2019) ireland to register fully with the medical council of ireland as a doctor, graduates must complete twelve months of training in an approved public hospital. internship comprises at least one surgical and one medical rotation. interns must spend at least two months and not more than three months in another speciality, including emergency medicine, general practice, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry, anaesthesia, and radiology. after completing the internship, doctors obtain a certificate of satisfactory service. on receipt of the certificate, the medical council permits the provisionally registered doctor to apply for full registration in the general register of medical practitioners. israel in israel, medical graduates must complete a one-year internship in an accredited hospital before they receive full registration. after completing the intern year, the graduate can go into a specialty program or practice general medicine. there are two kinds of internships: direct internship is done in either internal medicine, pediatrics or surgery. interns spend two months in surgery, two months in pediatrics, one month in emergency medicine, and six consecutive months (the second half of the year) in a chosen specialty. rotating internship offers a schedule that rotates through all major specialties—including three months of internal medicine, two months of pediatrics, two months of surgery, one month of emergency medicine, one month of anesthesiology and intensive care, and two elective months. in both programs, every intern gets a month off. some applicants prefer the rotating program because it generally is not as strenuous as a straight internship. however, a straight year can provide better preparation for the second year of residency. jordan in jordan, after finishing medical school (6 years), medical students receive an m.d. degree, but may only practice medicine after they work in a hospital for 12 months. after they complete the year of hospital work, they are licensed to work as a general practitioner. lebanon in lebanon, universities like the american university of beirut (aub), the university of balamand (uob), or the lebanese american university (lau), follow a curriculum similar to that of universities in the us. the beirut arab university (bau) on the other hand, follows a six-year program like in europe, with an internship as a post graduate 7th year. other universities, like universite saint joseph (usj), follow the french curriculum. this excludes, for example, pre-medical studies (e.g., a bs in science). instead, students enroll directly in a seven-year program of science and medicine. malaysia every medical graduate, from a malaysian public or private university, or from an overseas-approved university or college, must apply for provisional registration with the malaysian medical council. once the council approves their application, they are listed as 'approved for consideration'. this approval is required for them to apply for the position of medical graduate officer (pegawai perubatan siswazah) from the government, to be accepted into the government service. once the government accepts the application (through an interview and government servant compulsory course), the council registers them as a medical graduate officer with a provisional registration number, which allows them to serve as house officers (called h.o. for short), also known as housemen, working in major government hospitals only (ones with adequate consultants of each specialty or department). interns must complete six four month rotations in: internal medicine surgery paediatrics orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynecology a choice of emergency medicine, anaesthesiology, psychiatry, family medicine; this adds up to 24 months of housemanship. they are then “fully registered” by the malaysian medical council. government service is compulsory for every medical graduate who wants full registration with the malaysian medical council—after which, they may practice independently. sometimes the council extends the 24-month housemanship due to incompetency or health reasons. a fully registered doctor (called medical officer, mo) may choose to work in the government sector or private sector. consultants in this country, largely, refers to a doctor with completed specialty and sub-specialty training and a master or phd degree, approved by the council. mexico to become a physician in mexico, one must study 12 years of elementary and high school before entering medical school. medical education includes: five years of medical school (10 semesters) that include basic sciences and clinical rotations one year of rotating internship to become gradually responsible to work without supervision. clinical areas included: pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency department, and communitary medicine. one year of social service, whether the medical school is private or public after completing medical school, the medical student may obtain a license to work as a general physician and may opt to train in a specific field such as pediatrics, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, etc. the doctor must complete a residency of three to seven years (depending on the field) to get a specialist license. nepal after four and half years of medical/dental school (degree of mbbs or bds) every doctor in nepal must complete a one-year compulsory rotatory internship in various specialities and pass a medical licensing examination conducted by the nepal medical council (nmc) to get temporary registration in nepal medical council as a physician or dental surgeon. the internship should be completed through their medical/dental college, as recommended by the nmc. only after registration with the nmc is one licensed to practice medicine or dentistry as a primary care doctor or dental surgeon. those who study abroad are not allowed to do internship in nepal, though it was done in past. the netherlands the netherlands historically had a four-year pre-clinical phase leading to a master-equivalent pre-doctoral degree (doctorandus), followed by a two-year internship with responsibilities