http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1 <http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue =344&NrSection=3&NrArticle=20926> &IdPublication=4&NrIssue=344&NrSection=3&NrArticle=20926 The More Things Change by <http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue =344&NrSection=3&NrArticle=20926#author> Boyko Vassilev, Lucie Kavanova, Anita Komuves, Wojciech Kosc, Pavol Szalai, and Sinziana Demian 23 October 2009
The fall of communism meant drastic changes in doctors' relationships with patients, hospitals, and the state. And much more paperwork. [As we look at how life has changed - or stayed the same - over the past 20 years, TOL correspondents in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia asked people in various professions to describe their working life today compared with conditions before 1989. This collection of interviews with doctors is the third in the series that resulted.] See more special coverage of the anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain at our 20 Years After <http://20years.tol.org/> website. [...] REASILVIA MILOS, 56, ROMANIA Milos has worked at the Campulung General Hospital since 1981. She served as the director of the neonatology unit for 10 years and is currently chief of the pediatrics department. She has also been the hospital's general manager. We had certain dreams and nothing has been accomplished. We thought equipment and investment, and thereafter therapy options, would be much better. In terms of machines and equipment, it's exactly like it used to be back then - nothing has improved, or very little. Therapy options are also very limited, due to the fact that we can't make a thorough investigation and that we lack the necessary equipment. There is a gap, in my opinion, among the three layers: family doctor, emergency room, and general hospital. The strong links we used to have are no longer present. We used to know from every medical unit what the problems were. Now we don't know that anymore, and the connection between doctors in the hospital and those out in the field units is very weak - not to say nonexistent. On the positive side, it's much easier to stay informed. We can attend national and international conferences, we have access to all new literature in our field - and that's about it. I can't see anything else. As a pediatrician, I can say that the relationship with new moms is appalling. There is a widespread practice of self-medication. Everyone is a doctor in this country. Sometimes they try to impose their own opinions. The respect for someone educated in a certain field is not as strong as it used to be. Everyone - whether they're in secondary school, are illiterate, or have a university degree - knows medicine. The status of a doctor has diminished compared to before 1989. The media have also contributed to creating a false image of our profession. Doctors are now held responsible for health conditions that have nothing to do with us - [these conditions] can be inherited, genetic, and can appear in any country whatsoever. . They [patients] have found this flaw - because, I'm repeating myself, media coverage is completely unfavorable to doctors - and then they blame us for everything. Everything that doesn't turn out exactly the way they [patients] want it is deemed malpractice. And they sue us, and then radio and TV stations carry these stories. We try hard to impose our own point of view, and sometimes we have to do it forcefully, because we don't want to have interactions with our patients that exceed the limits of common sense; but, in order to stay in charge, sometimes we have to be rather tough. I don't regret anything from past times. No. Maybe I'm just sorry that I didn't catch these new times sooner, to be able to study abroad. And work abroad, because our income here is maybe on par with that of cleaning ladies in other countries. . Despite all this, our responsibility is huge; and so is our involvement. If we choose this profession, we have to do it regardless of financial gains. Money comes second when you have to deliver a baby or treat a child. [...] Boyko Vassilev is a moderator and producer of the weekly Panorama news talk show on Bulgarian National Television. Lucie Kavanova is a journalist in the Czech Republic. Anita Komuves is TOL's correspondent in Budapest. Wojciech Kosc is a TOL correspondent in Poland. Sinziana Demian is a writer for Formula AS magazine in Bucharest. Pavol Szalai covers foreign affairs for SME, a daily newspaper in Slovakia. Photo by Artur Bergman. Copyright C 2009 Transitions Online Pentru relatarile doctorilor din Bulgaria, Cehia, Ungaria, Polonia si Slovacia: http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1 <http://www.tol.cz/look/TOL/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrIssue =344&NrSection=3&NrArticle=20926> &IdPublication=4&NrIssue=344&NrSection=3&NrArticle=20926 ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." Aboneaza-te la <mailto:[email protected]> ngo_list: o alternativa moderata (un pic) la [ngolist] Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?
