The Federation of Employers of Medical Entrepreneurs (FEPAM) maintains that retaining doctors in Romania cannot be achieved through administrative constraints, but rather by ensuring a functional and predictable framework in which they can build stable, long-term careers.
FEPAM's reaction follows Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's statement that graduates of state medical universities should remain and work in Romania for at least several years after completing their studies.
According to a press release issued by FEPAM on Wednesday, the "major problem" of Romania's healthcare system is not a shortage of medical graduates, but the difficulty of retaining doctors in the profession and in the areas where they are most needed.
"A doctor becomes truly valuable to the system after years of practice, stability and professional integration. It is precisely at that point that the decision to leave frequently arises. This does not reflect a lack of attachment to the country, but rather the difficulty of practising in functional, predictable and secure conditions. An administrative obligation to remain for a fixed period may have a temporary statistical effect, but it does not create long-term stability. The healthcare system needs continuity, stable medical teams and doctors who choose to build their careers here, not formal presences limited by a compulsory term," reads the press release.
In the view of medical entrepreneurs, the main obstacle is the absence of genuine professional practice conditions after completing residency: limited access to positions and properly equipped practices, unpredictable funding of medical services, difficulties in investing in medical infrastructure and insufficient legal protection in the exercise of the profession.
"Retaining doctors cannot be achieved through administrative coercion, but through the creation of an attractive professional environment. Doctors stay where they can treat patients safely, where they have access to equipment, where contractual predictability exists and where they can build a long-term career," the cited source adds.
FEPAM also considers several structural measures necessary, including: support programmes for young doctors to open and equip medical practices; housing facilities and professional integration support in underserved areas; stable and predictable contracts with the health insurance system; encouragement of public-private partnerships in the provision of medical services; strengthening legal protection for doctors in the exercise of their professional duties.
FEPAM believes that the priority should be the creation of a functional, credible and predictable framework for practising medicine.
Representatives of the Federation of Employers of Entrepreneurs in the Medical Field also expressed their willingness to work with the authorities to identify sustainable solutions that ensure both the social responsibility of the medical profession and the long-term stability of medical services provided to patients.
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