More than 2,600 medical students attended Medifutura today, an event organized by the Health Ministry to encourage future doctors to build their careers in Slovakia. More than 50 exhibitors, including hospitals, healthcare institutions and insurance companies, presented employment and training opportunities.
The event carried a clear message: Slovakia needs its young doctors to stay.
Health Minister Kamil Šaško said the goal was to connect students directly with potential employers and motivate them to remain in the country before considering opportunities abroad.
“This event is not just about talking in theory. The entire healthcare sector is represented here,” he said. “I hope many medical students will think twice before deciding to leave Slovakia and perhaps even sign employment contracts today.”
Many students welcomed the opportunity to meet potential employers, although some remain undecided about whether they will continue their careers in Slovakia or abroad.
According to the chairman of the Medical Trade Union Association, Peter Visolajský, retaining young doctors also requires improvements to specialist training.
"They are leaving mainly because of the complicated certification process, which, fortunately, we managed to change with the latest amendments."
Medical schools, meanwhile, say the situation has been gradually improving. Andrea Čalkovská, dean of the Jessenius Faculty of Medicine at Comenius University:
"People have these wings so they can fly out into the world, gain some knowledge, and come back, so we don’t stop them from going; we say, ‘Go, and when you’ve learned, bring it home.’”
Hospitals also face challenges in attracting specialists to less popular fields and regions. Alexander Mayer, director of the University Hospital in Bratislava:
"They mostly choose the more lucrative specializations; this model leads to a situation where it’s as if an entire generation of doctors is disappearing in those high-demand specialties, such as endocrinologists and rheumatologists."
Mayer says shortages are felt most strongly in smaller regional hospitals. Organizers plan to hold a similar event for nurses next year.
Source: STVR
