[Medical education in Egypt]

Modern medical training in Egypt was started by Antoine Clot Bey in 1837 and became part of the university programme in 1919. At present, it comprises six years of university education, followed by one year of internships and one year of compulsory employment with a state-owned hospital. There are now 13 medical faculties in Egypt, using three different curricula: traditional, Islamic and innovative. Their implementation is hampered by the large number of students (15,500 men and 7500 women), the low salaries and motivation of the instructors, the teaching in English rather than Arabic and the lack of recent study materials. It is therefore rather difficult to compare the effectiveness of the Egyptian system with that in the Netherlands. Due partly to the differences in language and culture, Dutch authorities are reluctant to recognise Egyptian medical diplomas.