Interns and residents in Ethiopia are severely underpaid. Their stipends are not enough to survive on — not for food, transport, rent, or even basic dignity. This has been a longstanding problem, one we also faced as medical students and residents. But now, as consultants, we forget.
We make a living — not because our government salaries are high, but because we have private practice. They don’t. Interns and residents have no private work, no side income, no support system. Yet we expect them to carry the heaviest burdens in our hospitals — tired, hungry, overworked, and underpaid.
The system justifies this by saying: “It’s only temporary.” One year for interns. Three or four years for residents. “Endure it, and then you'll earn like us.” But that’s a dangerous lie. Not everyone makes it. Many burn out, many leave, and many lose their compassion before even becoming specialists.
And we, the seniors, stay silent. We act like it’s normal — just part of the journey.
It’s time we ask ourselves:
Can we justify our comfort when those who follow us are collapsing?
Are we complicit by our silence?
If we survived, do they also need to suffer?
✍️Fasika Amdeslasie Gebrekirkos MD, MHPE, FCS-ECSA, FAIMER Fellow, Associate professor of Surgery, Gastrointestinal and laparascopic Surgeon, Quality Assurance Director of Ayder Comp Specialized Hospital.