South African Clinical Psychology, Employment (In)Equity and the “Brain Drain”

Abstract

The current study investigated race, gender and the “brain drain” in the Midlands Hospital (Pietermaritzburg) intern clinical psychology training programme. During the 20-year period between 1981 and 2000 a total of 128 interns were accepted into the programme. Almost three-quarters of the interns were White, and the majority of the sample was unskilled in the predominant language spoken in the region. Approximately 60% of the interns trained were female. No significant increase in the intake of Black interns was observed during the post-apartheid period (i.e.1994 to 2000). However, a significant increase in female interns was noted during that period. At the time of writing this article, almost one-quarter of the interns were working outside South Africa, the majority in Europe. Considering the findings, it is imperative that the profession re-examines its goals in post-apartheid South Africa, and makes concerted efforts to develop the mechanism to attain these. In addition, the profession and government need to take very seriously the “brain drain” problem and jointly develop acceptable ways of alleviating it.