Pediatrics faces decline as violence, compulsory service deter doctors

ISTANBUL

In a troubling trend, the number of professionals opting for pediatrics positions have declined as repeated compulsory service and violence against doctors make the specialty undesirable.

While 17 universities had no pediatrics in their specialty preferences, applications for pediatric sub-specialties remained at 10 percent.

In 2023, only six out of 50 pediatric emergency subspecialty positions and six out of 60 pediatric intensive care subspecialty positions were filled, corresponding to only one out of every 10 positions.

"Protect physicians. Very soon you will not be able to find good physicians to take care of you. There is a perception in society that physicians can be easily attacked. Physicians' lives are being stolen. Risky branches are no longer preferred for this reason," Doctor Haluk Çokuğraş, a pediatric pulmonologist at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, said.

Doctor Zeynep İnce, head of the Department of Pediatrics at Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, confirmed that pediatrics is one of the areas where violence against doctors is most common and added, "Compulsory service is repeated for each specialization in the field of pediatrics, which has many sub-specialties. Therefore, specialization requires paying a heavy price."

"Once compulsory services in fields such as dermatology, radiology and basic sciences were abolished, those departments became popular again. If we want to train good faculty members, there should be no compulsory service, so that there is integrity," Doctor Bülent Zülfikar, Rector of Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine, suggested.