How hard is medical school

Imagine a young man who: 

a) had the misfortune of being a good student, over 19, 

b) had the even greater misfortune (which looks like a reckless one, you will understand, punters) to take nationwide exams and get a first place a dozen at a medical school in a university. And 

c) as if not all of this was enough, he was also a good student and got his degree excellently and in due time, even honored by his university at a special ceremony. You will tell me that I am describing the well-known type of "rascal". I assure you that you are wrong. He is not a "junkie and dude" of course, but he is a young modern, half-assed, "computer-savvy", knows all the bands in the world and has many interests. I tell you because I met him.

He started studying medicine at 18, worked hard for six years, got a degree at 24. As a good citizen after graduation he will be a soldier, one year today, two years older. He will be fired by the army at 25. Then he will do a farming practice, the whole process will eat him another two years, he will turn 27 years old. Until then, he had only paid the farmer's meager salary.

At 27, then, he is not a doctor, he cannot practice a profession, nor serve science. He is only a graduate of Medicine. He has to get a specialty to be a doctor, to basically continue his studies as a specialist, just as the law requires. Then he discovers that the great and excruciating adventure begins, which cuts off all his desire to study, work, offer and of course improve his life.

Waiting list: How hard is medical school

The particular young man we are talking about chose Endocrinology as a specialty. Obtaining this specialty requires two years of specialization in Pathology and another two in Endocrinology, a total of four, during which he is paid and complements his salary with "on-call". At least! At 31 he will be a doctor ...

However, when he goes on to enter the "democratic" waiting list for a hospital specialty, he is informed that his turn will come ... in 2009 to start specializing in Pathology, as always required by law! His turn to start his Endocrinology specialty will come in 2014. Add both years of Endocrinology, in 2016, first God will be a specialist physician with the legal right to practice. That is to say, twelve years from now, just a medical graduate, having fulfilled his military duties and done a farming practice, at the age of 39 he will finally be an endocrinologist!

And again he could even say! Medicine, you see, requires many sacrifices. But two very serious problems do arise: The first is that these successive and long interruptions of his studies (this is exactly what he is doing) cut him off from his science, which, as you know, is rapidly evolving and requires constant and continuous monitoring.

The second and very serious problem is what he does in those years of waiting, how and with what income he organizes his life. Getting married; Does she have children? Does she get a loan from the bank to buy a house? And how does his day go, reading novels, watching stupid and defunct "serials" on television, or drinking that awful and thoroughly frappe in the cafeteria? The one who got his degree perfectly! Many are forced to work as taxi drivers, contracted "craftsmen" or as unskilled construction workers or where they can find a job and make a living. It is not, of course, a shame, but for science and the scientist it is a waste of time killing ...

Those who can leave for another country in Europe, the US or Canada, where they are pursuing postgraduate studies and, if fortunate, specializing. But who can't, or can't dare, or the conditions of life don't allow it? In the past, it was easier to find a niche for hospitals in Europe and America. Today it is difficult, especially for Greek graduates, for two reasons. Firstly, because of the saturation phenomena in these countries as well, and secondly, especially for Greeks, because in recent years there has been a decline in medical education in Greece, largely due to the mixing of Greek universities with undergraduates from overseas countries. (illegitimate?) or through the process of recognition of the foreign diploma by DIKATSA.

The equation that is inequality

I have described to you an ideal case of a young, hardworking, diligent and probably well-to-do who decided to become a doctor. He will achieve it in 39 years! Others, who are less diligent or diligent or have problems with livelihoods, will become doctors with the right to practice the profession over the age of forty.

You will ask why all this is happening. Everyone talks about saturation: Saturation in universities, where eg. 100 seats are offered through Greek national exams but, legally or illegally, 150 are registered or transcribed! Saturation in hospitals, where the jobs offered are limited by two factors: the hospital's scientific capacity, but also its budget, because the trainee is paid. Finally saturation in the medical profession, for which the Medical Association of Athens (ISA) lately is very concerned and proposes to the Minister of Health measures that will lead us to a trade union organization in the Middle Ages!

All of these satellites, and especially the latter, are relevant. For example, in Kolonaki one doctor corresponds to 232 inhabitants, but in Ilion, a few kilometers from Kolonaki, the number falls to one doctor per 1,017 inhabitants, in Chaidari one in 804 and in Central Greece to one in 630 inhabitants. All public hospitals are in short supply of medical staff and many (large, equipped and expensive) regional hospitals cannot even operate because of these shortages. The saturation of universities is essentially limited to three cities, Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras, where most of the transcriptional preferences are focused. Finally, the saturation of specialist posts could perhaps double with the increase in funding and full utilization of regional hospitals.

But to the extent that saturation is real, it is not addressed by measures that restrict the free choice and pursuit of a profession. A complete and radical reorganization of medical studies and the medical profession may be required. Young people with a Baccalaureate degree of 10 or under 10 are forced to take refuge in a Balkan university of opportunity, it must be made clear that their choice is incorrect and in no way or pretext can they be equated with the students or graduates accepted. at a medical school of a Greek university with a bachelor's degree of over 18.

The issue is much more serious than it seems. University colleges in Europe and America/ USA are evaluated and ranked. Greek medical schools once had a very good reputation. They lost it and they have to recover it ...

The new yearbook

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a group of medical graduates and their parents. I convey to you as much as I can, their problems, their questions, their anxiety and often their despair.

With the waiting list for the specialty, it has been essentially a yearbook, similar to that of teachers, which we hope has just been removed or there are only remnants of it. It takes 10-15 years to complete the current year of Medical Graduates! Many graduates propose that the system of open competitions for vacancies available every year or every two years should be applied to their case as well as to their teachers. They also propose blocking incoming Greek universities with pan-Hellenic examinations, granting medical specialization from private hospitals and, ultimately, reinstating the institution of salaried doctors.

Others are responsible for saying whether these measures are correct and effective. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to look for a match between the number of medical students leaving and the number of specialty positions offered by public or semi-public hospitals.