Why not abolish the elective?

Radio NZ reports:

The University of Otago yesterday announced it would punish more than 50 trainee interns for using their three-month overseas hospital placement to instead go on holiday.

But three former students – who spoke to RNZ anonymously – said the culprits were being scapegoated for a long-running and culturally-accepted practice. All three did their compulsory placement in 2015 in various countries.

One said he knocked off three weeks early to go travelling, another said he only worked mornings for the entire duration of his stint and the third said he spent seven of the 12 weeks on holiday.

“It was very widespread,” one GP said. “I’d say it was culturally normative, to the point where … senior doctors would joke with you about how you’re gonna be on holiday.”

Another GP told RNZ he believed the practice went back decades.

“My family GP, he went to Malta and that was almost 35 years ago. He said he spent the whole time on the beach, you know, relaxing and travelling Europe in a van.

“If you asked the majority of the faculty who are doctors ‘what did they do on their elective?’ – I think that would open up another can of worms.”

He said the university’s response had been “a knee jerk reaction to try save face”.

“There’s no way they didn’t know this was happening.”

None of the three doctors were apologetic for their actions. They said the travel abroad taught them life lessons which were of more value than observing doctors speaking different languages and using outdated practices.

They acknowledged they received some government funding while abroad – about $500 a week – but pointed out their massive student debt and intensive study load.

If generations of doctors have used the elective as a form of holiday, doesn’t that suggest there is little value in it and should be abolished?