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The order to allow medical students to work has been made permanent
Medical students who have completed only three years can take up positions that usually require specialists with secondary medical or pharmaceutical education. It has also been suggested that students in grades 4 and above be transported in ambulances. What medical positions do you think students are suitable for?
The Ministry of Health has issued an indefinite work procedure for incoming medical students. Previously, the order was valid until March 1, 2025.
According to this, medical students who have completed only three courses can take up positions that usually require specialists with secondary medical or pharmaceutical education. They can work as nurses or nurses, as well as registrars. If a student completes four courses, he or she can work as an ambulance paramedic under the supervision of a doctor.
This measure is aimed at solving the problem of labor shortage. For health workers, this is not a solution. Andrei Konoval, head of the all-Russian trade union of health workers "Action", said that the shortage is caused by low salaries.
— I wouldn’t say that such situations with students and mentoring are widespread there. Apparently, the students themselves are not very interested in this this time. Secondly, the ambulance workers themselves do not have a very good attitude towards this. Because even qualified young specialists still need training and assistance, but this cannot compensate for the real deficit. Our ambulance service is in a terrible state, the number of teams is below the norm, and sometimes there is no second medical worker in the team. This means that the paramedic goes out alone. There are few medical teams, especially in rural areas. In other words, only paramedics are paramedics. And doctors are really rare. I am not talking about specialized teams, resuscitation, psychiatry. For example, if a nurse at the central district hospital receives a salary increase of 30,000 rubles, then an ambulance paramedic from a visiting team receives 7,000. And the number of mid-level medical personnel in the surgical department is generally 4,500 junior medical workers. Naturally, people started leaving, people were disappointed in their profession, they didn’t see any prospects, some just left the profession, some went to another ambulance position. It’s a terrible situation. “It’s better, but it’s also worse.” There are single teams and there aren’t enough teams. The situation is very unpleasant. — And what about the option of going with a paramedic together with a student, for example, so that there would still be two of you? — Well, maybe. But that’s not a solution to the problem. I’m just saying this out of desperation. In any case, it’s a disgrace. Strictly speaking, the responsibility lies with the certified professional, and what should he do with this student if something happens? Well, maybe he’ll take his suitcase there. The salaries are shamefully low — 25, 35, well up to 40 thousand. It’s clear that in the Moscow region the salaries are higher, and in Moscow the salaries are generally good, but people also have questions. People everywhere don’t believe that the work is paid properly. The situation with drivers is difficult. People there have to take taxis or work somewhere else.
However, students are well suited to assisting the clinic staff. For example, Nikolai, a general practitioner at a Moscow Region hospital, says about working with documents:
— From my own experience, I have personally seen the trend of sending students studying at Moscow universities in 2024, including foreign students, to provide direct support to medical and nursing staff. The students were directly involved in the work. In principle, this is a big plus, since the students' knowledge has already reached a certain level, and since this is the fourth year, these students can confidently help doctors in such very important aspects as medical examination of the adult population, paperwork. . first of all. Also, given the seasonality of diseases, for example, the growth of epidemics or viral seasonal colds, as they say, extra hands are always useful. And students are very active in helping in this regard, which is a huge advantage, mainly in terms of facilitating the work of doctors. Local health departments will ask agencies how many interns they need to send, and will provide support after they are sent. A survey of 10 people revealed quite sufficient numbers. - For a month, for a year. - For how long? - Within 2 months. The therapist himself says that there are about 20 people there, that is, about 20, which is not enough for too many people. We have staff and therapists, but where to place them, then we will have to build a new clinic. And if we are talking about the shortage of doctors of such narrow specialties as ultrasound, gastroscopy, colonoscopy, functional diagnostics, then we would like to have more doctors. Well, there are also narrow specialties, such as cardiology and neurology.
The Ministry of Health also allowed medical workers with higher and secondary education to work as emergency nurses and nurse anesthetists in emergency situations even without the appropriate certification. This standard is valid until January 1, 2027.