It seems that there is an agreement between the rectory of the UIB and the ministries of European Funds, University and Culture and Health to take advantage of the possibility of increasing the academic offer of the Faculty of Medicine by 15% next year in order to try partially alleviate the shortage of doctors that the country suffers.
Given that right now The Faculty of Medicine of the Balearic Islands offers 60 places per coursea percentage increase of 15% in the same would mean 9 more places, although sources consulted do not rule out that a real increase of ten is finally approved to be able to offer a round number of 70 from the next academic year.
Recently, the Ministry of Universities has confirmed that it will assume an increase of up to 15% in the places offered for the Medicine degree, without the need to modify the study plan, for the 2023-24 academic year.
The proposal would be so advanced that the Ministry of Finance is already working to include a budget item aimed at making it possible to expand places in the Medicine degree and has assured that “there will be resources” for it. For his part, given the suspicions shown by both the National Conference of Deans of the Faculties of Medicine (CNDFM) as well as by the State Council of Medical Students (CEEM), the ministry directed by Joan Subirats would have “guaranteed” that the educational quality of these studies will be maintained.
Josep Lluís Pons, general director of University Policyconfirmed that there have already been meetings in this sense between themselves, the University and the Servei de Salut itself, which, he recalled, is the body that guarantees practical training for undergraduate studies and which must guarantee that it can continue lending it with the increase in students.
“An opportunity to grow”
“We should be able to increase our current academic offer of Medicine studies by these nine places,” Pons estimated, adding that “This is a great opportunity for us. Right now, I only see this possibility as an opportunity to grow.”
The general director of University Policy only made one complaint, the difficulty and the procedures that must be overcome to get accredited professors to teach these studies.
“They require you to have published a series of scientific articles and let’s not forget that they are medical specialists who have many other better-paid career opportunities than teaching, not to mention that the academic career will force them to make a great effort,” admitted.
The Ministry of Health confirmed that they are waiting to receive official confirmation from the UIB and a meeting with the rector of the University and with the Faculty itself to “begin to outline the options for this expansion of places that we had already formally requested.”
Despite the apparent opposition of the deans of the Faculties of Medicine to this expansion of places proposed from Madrid, the vice dean of the Balearic Faculty of Medicine, Margalida Gili, considered that this extension would not cause major problems. Although with nuances.
More difficult from sixth grade
“We would not have any problem increasing those nine places, at least as far as theoretical classes are concerned, so this extension would not be problematic until the fifth year,” he began. the vice dean.
Another thing would be in the sixth year, the last of these degree studies before undertaking the Mir exam to obtain a medical specialty after another four or five years of residency depending on the complexity of the chosen specialty.
“In the sixth year it would be more difficult for us,” warned the vice-dean, recalling that it is in this last academic year when students no longer go to classrooms but rather “they are going to do the rotating. They go to the different services of hospitals and health centers and must have the training and advice provided by their tutorsas is the case with the training of internal resident doctors (mires)”, he pointed out.
But as it is the sixth and last course, there is room for more active doctors to meet the requirements to expand both the staff of tenured or associate professors of these studies, considered Gili, who stressed that this expansion of nine or ten positions will begin in the first year of undergraduate studies and will be progressively extended to the rest of the years of the degree.
Although she was not the interlocutor, Margalida Gili is aware that the rector of the Balearic University, Jaume Carot, would have sought the opinion of the Dean of Medicine on this extension before starting the entire process, which is still inconclusive, and that his response would have been In the affirmative, the vice-dean concluded, emphasizing that an administrative decision of this magnitude is the responsibility of the Board of Directors of the University, a body made up of Carot himself as well as the rest of his vice-chancellors.