Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Health Ministry has facilitated work placements for 16 Indonesian specialist doctors graduating from abroad to serve in various regions in the country until mid-2023.
"All doctors have had competency evaluations carried out by the joint committee and have been declared competent. They have also received training and have been placed in health service facilities according to the national needs' plan," the ministry's Director General for Health Workers, Arianti Anaya, noted in a statement on Thursday.
Anaya remarked that the work placement was part of the Adaptation Program for Specialist Doctors Graduated Overseas in an effort to distribute health workers throughout the country.
According to Anaya, the specialist doctors come from various disciplinary backgrounds namely, three traumatology orthopedic doctors, three internal medicine doctors, four obstetrics and gynecology doctors, one ophthalmologist, four dermatology and venereology doctors, and one pediatrician.
She remarked that all of them have been placed in 16 Regional General Hospitals (RSUD) spread across Indonesia, namely Prof. Kandou General Hospital in North Sulawesi, Cut Meutia North Aceh Hospital, Dr. Fauziyah Bireun Aceh Hospital, Palmatak Anambas Hospital, Zainal Abidin Pagar Alam Hospital Lampung, and Kubu Raya Hospital in West Kalimantan.
Other work placement locations are at Otanaha Gorontalo Hospital, Dolopo Madiun Hospital, Dr. H Kumpulan Pane Hospital North Sumatra, Muyang Kute Redelong Aceh Hospital, Noongan Minahasa Hospital, Bendan Pekalongan Hospital, Batara Guru Lawu Hospital, Sawerigading Palopo Hospital, Jaraga Sasameh Hospital South Barito, and Serang Banten General Hospital.
Anaya then drew attention to one of the factors influencing the success of the program, which is the high participation of specialist doctors, who earlier worked abroad, to share their knowledge and ability in Indonesia.
"We are certainly very happy and proud of this program. We hope that in future, the program can continue to be improved," she remarked.
The Adaptation Program for Specialist Doctors Graduated Overseas is part of the Health Transformation in the Health Human Resources pillar that aims to overcome the shortage of specialist doctors in Indonesia.
According to data from the Health Ministry, Indonesia currently only has 51,949 specialist doctors, with a ratio of 0.28:1000, while most of them are still located on Java Island.
Based on these figures, the government still needs 30 thousand specialist doctors to realize equal access to health services across the country, Anaya remarked.
She noted that out of 21 specialist doctors' programs in 92 medical faculties, Indonesia was only able to produce 2,700 specialist doctors per year.
Moreover, the adaptation program consists of a pre-adaptation phase, which is the registration and adaptation stage that includes document verification, competency assessment, and debriefing. It is then followed by the issuance of a certificate that includes an adaptation competency certificate as well as an adaptation Registration Certificate (STR).
"The adaptation phase is the placement of specialist doctors. At this stage, the doctors are assigned to central government hospitals, regional governments, and other hospitals determined by the Minister of Health, with an assignment duration of two years," she stated.
When the assignment ended, the specialist doctor will receive a competency certificate as well as a Specialist Doctor's STR, Anaya explained.
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