NEWS

‘A dearth of meritocracy’

According to cardiologist Eftychios Voridis «a doctor’s career in the public service system is the same as the career of a civil servant; nominations and promotions are not conducted on the basis of stringent criteria.» «Meritocracy stops at entrance exams, many applicants get into medical school using other ways. About 280 students are enrolled in the first year and by the third year there are 600 students. As a result, two populations are created: the excellent students who passed the entrance exams and the others who are at a much lower level. This creates problems in teaching and a disproportionate number of doctors to meet the country’s needs. A proletariat of doctors has been created. It is not possible to educate all these doctors and to find them jobs. «Doctors have lost the status they used to enjoy but this is true of medical practice elsewhere and not just in Greece; doctors have become employees of insurance companies. As therapy and medical equipment is very costly, it is no longer a doctor that decides on the treatment but special committees, even though they have never seen the patient. Today various tests separate the doctor from the patient. The doctor has to collect numerous documents, he does not even know the color of the patient’s eyes. As doctors are in effect employees, their remuneration is low and their services uncertain.»

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