Doctors will no longer be exempted from compulsory social service: Ministry of Health | news today

During this Thursday (January 19) the raffle was carried out through which the Ministry of Health assigns the places of Mandatory Social Service (SSO), also known as rural, which is a requirement for graduates of the programs of bacteriology, nursing, dentistry and medicine obtain authorization to practice their professions. (Can read: Actors from the health sector ask the Government to reveal the text of the reform)

On this occasion, 5,779 people applied to occupy one of the 1,313 SSO positions that were raffled off. “The raffle has just taken place, 1,313 places were assigned and on this occasion 4,466 graduates of the four programs were exempted,” explained Edilma Suárez Castro, director of Human Talent Development in Health of this portfolio hours later.

However, during the broadcast of the draw, beyond the results of the draw, there was an announcement that took the thousands of graduates who followed it by surprise. “Probably, most likely, this is the last lottery in which we are going to have people exempted from social service. The following draws will be to assign the position and no professional will be exempted from the mandatory social service,” Suárez said towards the end of the broadcast. (You may be interested in: New evidence of glyphosate as a potential carcinogen published)

Until now, as the Ministry itself explains, a professional could be exempted when there were more people registered than places available, as happened, for example, in the draw that took place this Thursday. However, that would change.

One of the doubts that has arisen as a result of the announcement has to do with the number of places. As seen during the last draw, the vast majority (77% of those who applied) were not selected precisely due to lack of places. So, how will it be done in the future so that all bacteriologists, nurses, dentists and doctors meet this requirement? (You can also read: Authorization of clinical study with gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy)

Although there is still no document or resolution that explains the changes and that modifies the norm that currently governs the SSO, the director of Human Talent Development in Health advanced some details of how this will be carried out. As explained by Suárez, this can be achieved thanks to the implementation of the Preventive and Predictive Program for Primary Health Care, which the minister, Carolina Corcho, and the president, Gustavo Petro, presented in November of last year.

“In the next draw we will also have places for the physiotherapy and nutrition careers and since we are going to start the operation of the territorial health teams, we are going to open places in these territorial teams,” Suárez explained. (You may be interested in: Eating fatty fish may lower risk of kidney disease)

What the official refers to is the Territorial Interdisciplinary Medical Teams (EMIT), which were presented as one of the fundamental components of the Program. Although there is also no clarity on how these teams will work, during the presentation of the program in Aracataca, the minister showed a video in which a team of doctors visits different families in their homes and monitors the health status of the people who live in the home. .

In this regard, Suárez commented that all this is about an articulation “between the SSO, the operation of the territorial health teams and what is the implementation of the preventive, predictive and problem-solving model, where we hope that the four professions that are currently doing an important contribution in terms of resolution in the different populations where the SSO position is assigned”. (Can read: There is no safe way to drink alcohol: even one drink is risky)

Another of the changes that was announced by the official is that the rural course would also be mandatory for those who are completing their training in family medicine or family health. According to Suárez, some adjustments are being made so that these modifications begin to be seen from the next draw, which must be done between February 1 and April 30.

Meanwhile, through social networks, hundreds of graduates of these programs ask for clarity about the announced modifications.