The original version of the ministry order assumed that specialist doctors with basic training could complete their studies as oncologists, endocrinologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, epidemiologists, urologists and anesthesiologist-resuscitators. Therapists and general practitioners will be able to retrain as psychiatrists and endocrinologists. In the new version, the list of additional specialties was greatly reduced: only three remained: psychiatrists, psychotherapists and endocrinologists.
The document is posted on the Regulation.gov.ru portal and is under public discussion – it is a draft order on qualification requirements for medical and pharmaceutical workers with higher professional education. It must replace the current order of 2015, which establishes the requirements for professional training and regulates the positions that a specialist with basic training and professional training can occupy.
The initial proposal to allow medical school graduates and physicians to rapidly retrain as an oncologist, neurologist, epidemiologist, urologist, anesthesiologist-resuscitator, as well as an endocrinologist, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist sparked much debate in the professional community.
For example, at the recent “Current Problems in Pediatrics” conference, specialists opposed the possibility of becoming a “narrow” specialist in the field of pediatrics without completing a specialized basic residency. Also causing concern among specialists was the recent decision to allow physicians from other specialties to serve as surgeons, anesthesiologists-resuscitators, and traumatologists-orthopedics, after retraining from 3.5 to 9 months.
As a result, the Ministry of Health decided to limit the range of specialties in which professional retraining of doctors will be possible (general practitioners, general practitioners, cardiologists, neurologists, etc.) to three areas: psychiatry, psychotherapy, and endocrinology. The country is reorganizing the mental health service and adopting a program to combat diabetes, and this requires more specialists. The number of psychiatrists in the country is 82%, endocrinologists: 83%.
