The President of Russia instructed to debug the work of medical students in the Northern Military District zone

Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with members of his campaign headquarters on Monday, promised to help solve bureaucratic problems that prevent medical students from practicing in the Northern Military District zone. This topic was raised by the co-chair of the headquarters, the chief physician of one of the Moscow hospitals, Maryana Lysenko: according to her, future doctors work in the front-line zone as volunteers, but cannot count this experience as summer practice. The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation assured Kommersant that the issue is already being studied. And the State Duma added that if new legislative initiatives are needed, the parliament is ready to consider them.

The head physician of the 52nd hospital, Maryana Lysenko, discussed the problems of medical students during a meeting between Vladimir Putin and members of his campaign headquarters. In preparation for the elections, Ms. Lysenko said, she visited medical universities in almost all regions of the country. The students, the co-chair of the headquarters assured, have a request for practice in the North Military District zone and front-line hospitals: “They do this as volunteers, but they are not counted as practice; we have already discussed this issue with the Ministry of Health. Can this be resolved? “I understand that such a movement certainly exists: the inner desire of people to be where it is difficult, and where people need help and support, this is natural for us, for our young people,” Mr. Putin noted. “As for [медицинской] practices in those regions where, unfortunately, it is still not easy, difficult and dangerous. We have many young people undergoing internships, you know this well, during the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. “All this can be done.”

Medical students practice in medical organizations during all courses of study (this also applies to those who receive secondary education in the field of medicine). This way they reinforce theoretical knowledge with experience. Since practice is a mandatory part of the educational process, the absence of a supporting document can threaten young people with severe sanctions, including expulsion from the educational institution.

The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, which Kommersant contacted for comments, said: the issue of counting work in the North Military District zone and front-line hospitals as practice for medical students who went there as volunteers is currently being worked out.

492 medical volunteers provide assistance to junior and nursing staff in carrying out doctor’s orders and performing medical procedures, and also participate in activities to maintain the sanitary and anti-epidemic regime of departments in medical organizations providing specialized high-tech medical care in nine regions, including in the Belgorod and Rostov regions, DPR and LPR and in Crimea. These data were reported to Kommersant by the press service of the All-Russian public movement of volunteers in the healthcare sector “Medical Volunteers”. The largest number of medical volunteers – 210 – are in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The organization did not specify how many of them continue their studies.

Chairman of the Council of the Association of Volunteer Centers, head of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy Artem Metelev (ER) noted that more than 2 thousand medical volunteers, including students, work in military hospitals and hospitals in front-line regions and in the Northern Military District zone. Mr. Metelev could not name the exact number of the latter, but emphasized that volunteering is widespread among students and every medical university has a volunteer center. Such work does not really count as summer internship, he confirmed. According to the deputy, this creates difficulties for students.

“I also communicate quite a lot with students and I think that these are (medical students in the Northern Military District zone.— “Kommersant”) there may be isolated cases,” commented Ivan Davydov, a member of the St. Petersburg branch of the medical workers’ trade union “Action”, the author of the popular Telegram channel “Explain for Honey.” He called practice in the Northern Military District zone “not a very good idea”: in his opinion, “trained specialists who have mastered military medicine well and are aware of where they are going” should work in a combat zone. “The safety of students in the SVO zone is a big question. The hospital management may be responsible for it, as well as for the safety of existing doctors. However, this is a big risk for health and life,” added Mr. Davydov.

The issue of responsibility for the safety of trainees was also raised by the deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, Sergei Leonov (LDPR): “If a student went to the SVO zone to do an internship for a month, who will be responsible for him and what social guarantees does he have? Either way, he puts himself at risk. If the university responds, then it’s one story, if the student himself is another.” Mr. Leonov does not see any difficulties in organizing the process itself: according to him, if a student practices in a particular medical institution, such activity can be counted as practice.

Artem Metelev points out in this regard that, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the Association of Volunteer Centers has built a system that provides state guarantees to volunteers, including compensation payments in the event of injury, injury or death. Institutions where volunteers work, according to Mr. Meteleva, are previously approved by an interdepartmental working group, which includes representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the military police.

The head of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, Badma Bashankaev (ER), emphasized that students – future surgeons, anesthesiologists, resuscitators – go to the SVO zone as volunteers in order to also gain experience that will become invaluable in their future professional life: “Our committee believes that future doctors should be given the opportunity to prove themselves, especially in such an important common cause. And kind and skillful hands will definitely come in handy in a front-line hospital. The guys can do the work of junior medical staff, future surgeons can assist their senior colleagues in front-line and military hospitals,” said Mr. Bashankaev. “In order for such trips to be counted as practice for students, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Science need to find a quick and correct solution. If new legislative initiatives are needed, we are always ready to consider them.”

Natalia Kostarnova