'It's A Dead End': Doctor Reacts To MoH's 'Manifesto'
- 24.09.2024, 12:15
Will Belarusians be treated by non-achiever students and doctors from Central Asia?
An article appeared in state media that can really be called a "manifesto" of the Ministry of Health regarding the situation with the assignment of medical school graduates. If we filter out all the "water", we will see two main, contradictory messages from the state: the first is "You will perish without us", and the second is "Don't even try to escape".
Will this "manifesto" affect future doctors? The Charter97.org website spoke anonymously with a young doctor from the one of the Belarusian regional centers:
— I will say that, unfortunately, this "manifesto" will affect many. Here it is worth looking at the passing scores at the same Belarusian State Medical University this year. If you take those who were admitted at the expense of the state, everything is beautiful there. Not everyone will score 390 points out of 400 possible. These are people who purposefully went towards their dream, worked hard. These "manifestos" and scare stories about how "nobody needs you" are of absolutely no interest to them.
But if we look at those who came through targeted recruitment, on a paid basis, I have questions. I can't imagine what kind of doctor a person who scored less than 200 points (and there are such positions) can become. There is a strong devaluation of the profession as such.
You can put it into the heads of such guys that "you miraculously became doctors", "you need to thank your native state" and go to the most remote parts of our country at the first call.
But in today's situation there is no choice. The deficit is huge, the quality of personnel is already in the background. The main thing is to plug all the holes that have formed.
– When will ordinary Belarusians start to feel the deterioration in the quality of medicine?
– I think they already feel it. Dismissals for political reasons, emigration, the outflow of applicants - all this is making itself felt. The quality of medicine is seriously affected not only by the shortage of doctors, but also by the shortage of medical personnel. They have a truly hellish job today, when the salary remains the same, but the "ducks" need to be changed for twice as many patients.
– How will these holes be closed?
– A certain number of applicants to medical schools will still come. No matter what the conditions are - five to ten years of work. After all, in many ways, medicine is a vocation. There is also a dynastic factor. "My dad was a doctor, I want to be one too" - such people will be found. And then, as it seems to me, the bar will have to be lowered. Increase the number of targeted students. I think the authorities will go in this direction. Yesterday, with such scores, you could only enroll as a paramedic or an agronomist, and today you can go to be a doctor, and the state will also pay you a stipend. Yes, you will have to work for an incredible number of years, but for many, this is not an obstacle.
That's one point. The second is even greater enslavement of graduates. They will be turned into real slaves.
There is also a third point - to pull doctors from countries where things are even worse. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan. These are countries where the situation, in my opinion, is even more deplorable. Give such a Turkmen doctor some kind of state apartment, a salary of 400 dollars - he will thank you for the rest of his life. I have already heard of such cases in some regional centers. I think this is one of the forks in how the Ministry of Health can act.
I will say that all these paths are dead ends. The Ministry of Health has no good moves under this government.