Java no longer option for medical graduates<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An overwhelming demand for medical internships
\nin the larger provinces has forced the government to close off
\ncertain areas to medical graduates.<\/p>\n
Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi said the provinces of North
\nSumatra, Riau, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East
\nJava and Bali would be off-limits to general practitioners.<\/p>\n
Statistics from 1998 showed that in Jakarta, for instance, a
\ndoctor served 4,340 patients while in East Nusa Tenggara, one
\ndoctor catered to 13,847 patients.<\/p>\n
Dental graduates can no longer select Jakarta, West Java,
\nYogyakarta or Bali for their internships, he said at a hearing
\nwith the House of Representatives Commission VII for population
\nand welfare.<\/p>\n
In 1991 the government decreed that medical school graduates
\nwere obligated to serve at least two years in local community
\ncenters located in \"remote\" areas and three years in \"nonremote\"
\nareas. The decree is aimed at ensuring the poor have equal access
\nto health services.<\/p>\n
Achmad said the larger provinces have been popular among
\ngraduates mainly because of the desire to live adequately, and
\nfor career and education advancement. Their families are also
\nlocated in the larger provinces.<\/p>\n
Another reason was the \"gender issue,\" he added. Women medical
\ngraduates have reportedly been either reluctant to be sent to
\nareas considered remote, or have requested for posts in the same
\nareas as their husbands.<\/p>\n
\"In June this year, 1,324 general practitioners and 403
\ndentists have applied for places in Jakarta and Java alone,\"
\nAchmad said.<\/p>\n
The Ministry is going to appoint some 1,974 medical graduates
\nat local community centers across the country this year.<\/p>\n
The government is also trying to lure graduates into choosing
\nother areas for their internship by offering bigger salaries for
\nthose assigned to remote places.<\/p>\n
\"Interns in remote areas receive approximately Rp 1.5 million
\nwhile in nonremote areas they receive Rp 950,000,\" Endrarto
\nSutarto, the ministry's secretary-general, said.<\/p>\n
Other offers include a better chance at being appointed as a
\ncivil servant, and scholarships for specialist studies.<\/p>\n
\"In hazardous areas, doctors are given a shorter term,\" Achmad
\nsaid. A six-month internship in these areas is equal to a one-
\nyear internship, he explained. (10)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/java-no-longer-option-for-medical-graduates-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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