The Dean of the Faculty of Human Medicine at the University of Damascus, Subhi al-Bahri, stated that half of the postgraduate students in the faculty suspend their enrollment for a year and travel abroad.
Al-Bahri added that the percentage of female doctors who travel among the postgraduate students reaches nearly one-third, with most of them traveling through family reunification, according to the state-owned Al-Baath newspaper on Sunday, November 24.
Medical students leave the faculty after being accepted in the educational hospitals during their second year, al-Bahri noted, indicating that this situation leads to a hemorrhage in medical staff, as only half of the students who were admitted to the educational hospitals continue in their second year.
The study of human medicine in Syria is divided into two stages. The first stage includes university study that may last for six years (depending on the specialty), with a preparatory year followed by five years of study.
The second stage is the specialization phase, which requires a similar period and also depends on the specialty, according to the Syrian Commission for Medical Specialties.
The Global Economy website, which specializes in studying economic prospects, pointed out in 2022 that Syria ranked first among Arab countries in the emigration of skilled professionals abroad.
Grants do not stop the hemorrhage
The statement by the Dean of the Faculty of Human Medicine follows a decree issued by the Syrian regime’s president, Bashar al-Assad, which grants doctors among the postgraduate students in medical faculties a compensation equal to 100% of the fixed monthly salary at the time of work, provided they perform actual work in hospitals and health centers affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Last June, the Ministry of Health raised the consultation fees for doctors of various specialties by nearly 600% from the previously applicable rates.
Doctors’ consultation fees reached 25,000 for general practitioners, 40,000 for specialist doctors, and 50,000 for specialists who have practiced the profession for over 10 years (the dollar averages about 14,500 Syrian pounds).
Areas under the regime’s control in Syria suffer from a significant shortage of medical staff across various specialties due to the emigration of most doctors, as well as the circumstances of practicing the profession amid economic, living, and service crises that do not encourage ongoing work in the sector.
The Syrian regime has not openly hidden its discontent with the emigration of doctors several times, despite acknowledging, on the other hand, the meager wages received by workers in the medical field, without viable governmental solutions that could help mitigate the effects of the shortage of essential medical specialties.