MODENA. Closed number or open number, this is the dilemma. The green light from the Select Committee of Senate Education Committee to open registrations for faculty of Medicine and Surgery has created quite a stir in Italian universities.
There National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists she immediately said she was “clearly against” the proposal, but there are those who are instead celebrating and already talking about “goodbye to the limited number of students in Medicine”. It’s a shame that the text presented by the group of parliamentarians does not imply an abolition of the entrance test, but rather a simple postponement of six months.
THE COMMENT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIMORE FACULTY OF MEDICINE
«I don’t see any major advantages in this proposal – he comments Michele Zoli, president of the faculty of Unimore Medicine and Surgery – because there is a risk of losing an academic year to a large part of the students who, not being able to continue the course, may not like the alternatives in the biological or healthcare fields. Among other things, it is not yet known whether at the end of that first period there will be a new national competition or whether it will be the teachers of the individual locations who will give votes and therefore choose, in fact, who goes forward and who does not”.
For Zoli, the test after six months «is not the solution to the problem of the current shortage of doctors, given that the number of graduated doctors in 6 years, or 10 if we think of specialists, will be the same with any access method. Furthermore, it is expected that in 6-10 years the shortage will no longer exist.” Not to mention the further difficulty in identifying suitable spaces for lessons. “If for six months – he continues – instead of 200 students there were a thousand, it would be impossible to teach.” The problem of capacity is not new for the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of Unimore, which has been looking for suitable solutions for years. «From 2019 to 2023, the number of first-year members went from around 140 to 216, figures that led us to find new spaces such as the Raffaello cinema or the San Carlo theatre. Temporary and not entirely adequate solutions, because new buildings are needed to solve the problem. There are ongoing projects, but the construction world has its times.”
THE COMMENT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIMORE MEDICINE DEGREE COURSE
Also the president of the degree course in Medicine and Surgery, Paolo Ventura, expresses his doubts about the possibility of postponing the entrance test by six months. «We are awaiting news on how the students will be screened. If the teachers were in charge of the selection, they would have a huge responsibility on their hands.”
What is certain is that significant organizational problems would be created. “If after six months – reflects Ventura – the students who don’t pass the test moved to other degree courses, they would be the ones to experience the inconvenience of seeing hundreds of new students arrive in the middle of the year”. Furthermore, there is the issue of the first school fee to be paid, without the security of continuing the degree course. «But then – asks the president of the degree course – where do we put all these students? The first year there is a lot of theory, but then hours of practice are added and there are not the necessary structures to accommodate so many aspiring doctors.” The students also agree with the teachers. «They fully realize that the entrance test has value and is not a punishment. If we were to move towards opening registrations, the entire teaching machine would be affected and would lose quality.”
MEMBERS IN MODENA
TO Modenathe difference was also noticed with theincrease last year from 180 to 216 members. «Our problem – says Ventura – is that at the same time as the increase in students, we found ourselves with some classrooms unavailable for safety works. Reluctantly we have moved the courses to other locations, but our priority is to hold all lessons on campus via Camp the. There are construction sites for four new classrooms, but due to bureaucratic problems the times are taking longer.”
Among other things, in recent months students have complained about the inconveniences, but «they were perfectly right – admits Ventura – as institutions we must be able to offer children the spaces they deserve. We are talking about the doctors of the future.”
