The Secretary of the Supreme Council for Planning in Medical Sciences has opposed the decision to increase the capacity of medical programs, emphasizing that the shortage of doctors cannot be resolved by simply increasing university admissions. On Saturday, June 22, Gholamreza Hassan-zadeh told ISNA news agency: "We believe that the shortage of doctors cannot be solved by increasing admission capacity. Instead of increasing admission capacity, we should retain the students who are currently studying in this field." He added: "For example, a surgeon working in Chabahar will never emigrate if he has living facilities." He also acknowledged that this council, which is under the Ministry of Health, is "forced to implement" the decision to increase the capacity of medical fields. The issue of doctor and healthcare staff emigration has been raised multiple times in recent years. Earlier this year, IRNA news agency reported that the number of members of the Medical System Organization who obtained a good conduct certificate for emigration increased from 750 in 1397 to over 6,000 in 1401. Last month, Abolfazl Bagheri-Fard, the educational deputy of the Ministry of Health, announced the finalization of the implementation of the Cultural Revolution Supreme Council's decision to increase student admission capacity in medical fields for this year's entrance exam. He stated that this decision to increase student admission capacity would be implemented this year. This decision was approved about three years ago by the Cultural Revolution Supreme Council despite the opposition of officials from the Ministry of Health and medical universities. The main reason for approving such a decision was to compensate for the shortage of medical personnel in the country, and based on this, the admission capacity for medical fields was increased for the first time in the 1401 entrance exam. However, the Secretary of the Supreme Council for Planning in Medical Sciences reacted to the approval of this decision by saying: "I believe that some from the Ministry of Science deliberately approved this law so that the Ministry of Health would declare that it cannot carry out this work, and they would say, then let the Ministry of Science implement this decision." Hassan-zadeh emphasized: "The conditions are such that [they intend] not to provide us with financial resources and facilities to increase capacity, yet we are expected to admit more students." Last August, the head of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences warned in a letter to the Minister of Health about the possibility of a "disaster of improperly trained medical professionals" following the increase in admission capacity in this field. In a letter from Mohammad Ali Kiani, the head of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, to Bahram Einollahi, the Minister of Health, it was stated: "Considering the 47% increase in medical students in the 1401 academic year, which is more than double the increase approved by the Cultural Revolution Supreme Council, a one-and-a-half-fold increase in admissions for this field in 1402 under current conditions is impossible."
A Health Ministry Official Opposes Increasing Medical School Capacity in Universities
Gholamreza Hassan-zadeh, a health ministry official, opposes increasing medical school admissions, arguing it won't solve the doctor shortage and instead calls for retaining current students. The issue of physician emigration has escalated, with many seeking to leave Iran, highlighting systemic problems in the healthcare sector.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
A health ministry official opposed the decision to increase medical school admissions, arguing that it won't address the doctor shortage and instead called for retaining current students. This opposition highlights ongoing concerns about physician emigration and the quality of medical education in Iran.
- The number of medical professionals seeking to emigrate has significantly increased, from 750 in 1397 to over 6,000 in 1401.
- The Cultural Revolution Supreme Council approved an increase in medical school admissions despite opposition from health officials.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
Iran faces a significant shortage of healthcare professionals, exacerbated by high rates of emigration among medical staff. The government's attempts to increase medical school admissions have raised concerns about the quality of training.
Translated from the original and edited for English readers. View original source →
Translation confidence: 85%