The basic text for the lo. was approved on Wednesday 24 April stop to limited numbers in Medicine. The measure was welcomed positively by the director of Infectious Diseases at the San Martino Polyclinic in Genoa Matteo Bassetti, which however drew attention to some points. Here’s his reaction and what he said about it.
Bassetti’s reaction to the abolition of the limited number in Medicine
“There decision comes late, the fact that there is a lack of doctors is not of today.” But “the majority of Government has recognized an urgency“. These are the words of Matteo Bassetti upon hearing the news of the reform to eliminate limited numbers in medical faculties. The director of Infectious Diseases at the San Martino Polyclinic in Genoa had his say on the provision in a long interview with ‘Il Messaggero’.
With the stop to the test to enroll in Medicine, Bassetti explained, “kids will go into lockdown, universities will be encouraged to have in-person and online courses for the first 3 theoretical exams”. However, the doctor underlined, this provision “it won’t solve the problems anytime soon“. Given that, if all goes well, we will start from 2025, this “will mean having doctors ready in 2035“.
For Bassetti it is however an important step that had to be taken. The limited number established in 1987 “did not reward the best” and “made people lose their desire”, Bossetti told ‘Il Messaggero’. “The path is already difficult – he added – if you make it difficult at the beginning, at 19, a boy who is not completely mature will go on to do something else”.
Bassetti believes that the abolition of limited numbers at the Faculty of Medicine can represent a first solution to the shortage of doctors in Italy. “Young people would be happy to work even in today’s conditions – continued Matteo Bassetti -. But today they are leaving because the conditions are not there. We have been in difficulty for 15 years, the healthcare system has lost 37 billion euros. It is an aging country and it needs doctors.”
Unlike what was stated by Filippo Anelli, president of the National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists, according to which with the elimination of the limited number “in 10 years we will have a plethora of graduates who will have no chance of finding a job Work as doctors”, according to Bassetti, future medical graduates “will still find work”. “The funnel – he continued – is created along the way, the selection is made with teaching. Not with entrance tests asking how high the magpie flies.”
What does the basic text provide for the elimination of limited numbers in Medicine
The basic text approved by the Select Committee of the Senate Education Commission provides for enrollment in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry And Veterinary without any entrance test. After a first semester open to all, to access the second, students will have to pass the exams identified as preparatory. In the event of non-admission, we read on ‘Ansa’, the training credits will still be recognized to be able to change faculties.
What happens now at the Faculty of Medicine?
Now the basic text goes to Education Commission of the Senate, in which any changes through amendments will already be discussed. After that she will go to the Chamber for discussion. Once approved in the Senate, the bill will move to the House for final approval.
The timing is not yet known, but there is talk of it coming into force starting from the 2025-2026 academic year. Therefore, the dates of the next medical tests scheduled for 28 May and 30 July 2024 remain unaffected.
