Indonesian House of Representatives urges more humane internship working system for doctors

The working system must be more humane, taking into account the safety and occupational health of young doctors. Magelang (ANTARA) - Member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Vita Ervina, has urged that the internship working system for doctors be made more humane, stating that alleged extreme fatigue due to excessive workloads must not recur in Indonesia’s healthcare environment. She made this statement in Magelang on Monday, noting that the case is already being investigated by the Ministry of Health to determine the exact causes and evaluate the working system for intern doctors at various healthcare facilities. The deaths of four intern doctors throughout 2026 have become a serious concern; she addressed this following the socialisation of the National Health Insurance Programme - Indonesian Health Card (JKN-KIS) by Commission IX of the House of Representatives in 2026 in Magelang Regency. She explained that various parties are pushing for the government to immediately carry out comprehensive improvements to the work patterns and shift allocations for intern doctors across Indonesia. “This incident must not happen again. Shift allocations must be regulated more humanely because they are not full-time workers, but are still undergoing internship or training,” she said. She added that the work culture in hospital environments should be reorganised to avoid overburdening intern doctors excessively. These young doctors are considered to still be in the preparation stage before fully serving the public. “They are still preparing themselves to serve the community. Do not then give them extraordinary workloads that sacrifice their own health,” she said. She hopes that the government will soon establish stricter regulations and oversight regarding working hours, shift allocations, and protection of mental and physical health for intern doctors so that the safety of these young medical personnel remains guaranteed.