NRL speaks positively about course in family medicine

"The medical self-government welcomes the fact that, in the justification for the draft regulation, the Ministry of Health presented a catalog of persons who have retained their acquired rights to act as PCPs without having to take a course in family medicine. The catalog indicated by the Ministry of Health in the justification for the draft regulation coincides with the list of persons retaining acquired rights presented by the President of the Supreme Medical Council and includes, among others, physicians who, on September 29, 2007, held a first degree specialization in general medicine, or a first or second degree specialization or a specialist title in internal medicine, or a first or second degree specialization or a specialist title in pediatrics," reads the position of the President of the Supreme Medical Council.

The NRL assessed that the direction of the changes proposed by the Health Ministry is correct and deserves support.

"Taking into account that the obligation to take the course applies, among others, to physicians who have a first degree specialization in general medicine or who have a first or second degree specialization or a specialist title in internal medicine who were employed in POZ after September 29, 2009, and therefore most often to physicians who already have extensive experience in performing the tasks of a physician in POZ, it is reasonable to shorten both the course program and its duration. There is no need for the course program to include the knowledge and skills acquired by these doctors in the course of their specialization or in the course of their work in the POZ. The proposal to abandon the course in a stationary form in favor of e-learning teaching, which will enable more doctors to take the course and reduce the cost of the course, should also be considered expedient. Under the conditions of operation of the POZ clinic, the need for a doctor to travel to the course significantly hampered the work of this institution," the letter indicated.

The medical association also suggests considering the possibility of a course with a significantly shortened program in relation to the general program by doctors employed in POZ even before December 31, 2017, but who do not use their acquired rights. In the opinion of the NRL, physicians continuously working in POZ for more than 6 years have experience and skills in working in POZ, so the course in family medicine itself should be limited to the necessary minimum.