ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to answer the question: to what extent are the different grades of doctors able to determine their remuneration, hours of work and location of work in and outside government employment? It assesses the extent to which aspects of Government policy affect their economic autonomy. One of the ongoing debates in theories of the professions concerns the degree of economic autonomy which doctors employed in bureaucratic institutions are able to exercise. The employment contracts of government-employed doctors vary according to their grade. Interns work as full-time government employees with a fixed salary, and are entitled to government accommodation near the teaching hospital where they are serving their internship. The disparity in income between private and government-employed doctors and their colleagues in full-time private practice grew considerably in the mid-1980s and it was almost inevitable that doctors would leave government service.
