Yes ... get them all drafted into the Armed Forces, so that discipline may be enforced!

(In fact, why not suggest to your friendly Ministers that the whole of Health Services be organized in such a fashion [that is, by the Military]? It sounds to me that the logistics of the situation out there really needs such an approach).

Otherwise, how are you hoping to "retain their attention" (and/or interest and enthusiasm) over a period of thirty months ... and beyond?

In my opinion that's way too long. I would get them out and working far sooner than that!

The famous "Arborfield" course, which has been mentioned ad nauseum on this forum, was something like six months (if I remember rightly) ... and "Falfield" was (is) only two weeks!

In the circumstances you have been laying out, I would have thought that an "apprenticeship" approach may be a better way. That is, having the young techs trained "on the job", under the wing (and watchful eye, gentle tongue etc.) of an experienced hand. OK ... don't tell me ... there aren't any "Old Techs" around!

Exactly right Geoff - there aren't any "old techs" around and the few "techs" we have in some countries are not suitable mentors by a long chalk.
this is viewed as an apprenticeship scheme - they only do 16 weeks a year in school (2 x 8 week blocks), the other 32 are on the job mentored by myself and any one else we can find who is suitable (i.e. won't teach them that as no one really watches them they can sign in in the morning, go down town and hang about all day then come back and sign out and no one is the wiser - or wasn't until I caught the buggers!). So they wont loose interest - you have to realise we are talking about people with no electronic background - we are recruiting school leavers so the vast majority of the course is centred around practical skills in electronics - with the medical stuff graduated to match what they have learned and mostly delivered on the job. That also gives the MoH in their country an immediate return on their investment.

Also, in at least one of my countries, we now have a professional standards panel and a six month course would never qualify for registration.

I will post a clipping in other business about how little our pollies in Tonga care for the health system - that may give you an idea where the problem lies - they would rather spend health dollars flying business class with their wives to the US for paid treatment than think about the poor buggers they are supposed to be serving.

Re: your last paragraph ... nothing new there, Andy. From what I've seen, most of the world is like that.

But that shouldn't mean that we should turn aside. As those who know me would no doubt attest, I've said it many times before:- somebody has to give a [censored]!