News

A working group will propose changes in their training and work

At this stage, the duration of the training of nurses and midwives will not be reduced, an idea against which all interested professional organisations have expressed their opposition. The reason is that the line ministers did not support the proposal for 3+2 years of undergraduate training of nurses.

This became clear from the words of the President of the Association of Medical Universities in Bulgaria, Prof. Dobromir Dimitrov, Rector of the Medical University of Pleven, during a meeting he organised on the problems of health care professionals.

Prof. Dimitrov proposed to work towards updating the Unified State Requirements and updating the curricula of the health care specialties. In addition, Prof. Dobromir Dimitrov stressed that not enough is being done to introduce high technologies in the training of health professionals, as is the case for doctors - there is no training through virtual and augmented reality, as well as sufficient simulation training before entering clinical practice.

There are two major groups of problems related to health care professionals in Bulgaria. The first unites the problems in their training and the second - the problems related to their detention in Bulgaria. The participants in the meeting united around this conclusion.

It was attended by representatives of all interested professional organizations: The Bulgarian Association of Health Care Professionals (BAHCP), the Bulgarian Association of Assistant Pharmacists (BAPF), the Bulgarian Union of Medical Assistants and Paramedics (BSLAF). On the part of the medical universities, members of the management and faculties of public health participated in the meeting, as well as members of the academic staff of the departments that train students in the field of health care, the Medical University of Pleven informed.

The participants decided to set up a working group within one month, including representatives from each of the professional organisations present, as well as from the Bulgarian Medical Association, one representative from each specialty in the field of health care of higher education institutions, as well as from university and municipal hospitals as employers. Within two months, the working group will make proposals to the line ministries for changes in terms of both university training of health professionals and employers in the healthcare system.

At the meeting, it was also decided to develop a unified strategy for the development of the Health Care strand and, in terms of communication, to join efforts in a nationwide information campaign that would increase the interest of young people in the professions of health care professionals.

Respect on the part of society and colleagues, opportunities for professional and academic growth, defining a clear program for forming a starting salary and gradually increasing wages, maintaining a high quality of education, unifying the criteria for admission of students in the specialties of the Health Care Department in the higher education institutions that offer them. These are the key factors for the satisfaction of health care professionals, summarized during the meeting the Chairwoman of BAPZG Milka Vasileva.

The Chairwoman of BAPF, Lilyana Petrova, presented several problems related to the motivation and realization of the assistant pharmacists in Bulgaria, as well as the need for synchronization of the Bulgarian legislation with the European practices and international standards.

Alexander Alexandrov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Medical Association, presented the opportunities offered by the profession of medical assistant. These medical professionals diagnose, treat common diseases and can prescribe medications. It was recalled that even now a large part of the emergency workers are medical assistants and paramedics. According to BSLAF, with the more active integration of medical assistants in the healthcare system, many of the problems with the personnel crisis in outpatient care can be solved in the short term within a few years. In this regard, attention was drawn to the urgent need to increase the number of students in this specialty, especially in Northern Bulgaria. The representatives of BSLAF suggested that the profession of medical assistant should also be protected.

You can read the post on Zdrave.net via the button below.

Zdrave.net

The Rector of MU-Pleven, Prof. Dr. Dobromir Dimitrov, in his capacity as President of the Association of Medical Universities in Bulgaria, initiated the first discussion meeting on 10 March 2025 to discuss the problems in the admission and training of students in the field of health care. Emphasis was also placed on the need to increase the prestige and attractiveness of the professions of nurse, midwife, assistant pharmacist, medical assistant, etc. The meeting was attended by members of the management boards of the Bulgarian Association of Health Care Professionals, the Bulgarian Association of Assistant Pharmacists and the Bulgarian Union of Medical Assistants and Doctors - Milka Vasileva, Chairperson of BAPZG, Lilyana Petrova, Chairperson of BAPF, Alexander Alexandrov, Chairperson of BASLAF, as well as the Chairperson of the Regional Board of BAPZG Nadia Dimitrova and others. On the part of the medical universities, online members of the management and faculties of public health attended or participated in the meeting, as well as members of the academic staff of the departments that train students in the field of health care - Prof. Todorka Kostadinova, Director of the Accreditation, Quality and Project Activity Directorate, Prof. Teodora Dimitrova and Prof. Silvia Borisova, Dean and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Public Health at MU-Varna, Prof. Sonia Toncheva, Deputy Director of the Branch of Shumen at MU-Varna, Prof. Mariela Kamburova and Prof. Makreta Draganova, Deputy Deans of the Faculty of Public Health at MU-Pleven, Prof. Alexandrina Vodenicharova, Dean of the Faculty of Public Health at MU-Sofia, Assoc. Dr. Stanislavaza Harinova, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Public Health and Public Health at MU-Sofia. Maria Bozhkova, Director of Medical College at MU-Plovdiv.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss all problems related to the training, academic development and professional realization of health care professionals in order to unite the efforts of stakeholders to find workable solutions and increase the interest of young people in these specialties.

The Rector of MU-Pleven Prof. Dobromir Dimitrov presented to the participants in the meeting the chronology of the events that led to the escalation of tensions in the professional guild of health professionals. He assured them that the duration of the training would not be reduced at this stage, as the line ministers did not support the proposal for 3+2 years of undergraduate training for nurses. He proposed to work in the direction of updating the Unified State Requirements and updating the curricula of the specialties of the Health Care Department. In addition, Prof. Dobromir Dimitrov stressed that not enough is being done to introduce high technologies in the training of health professionals, as is the case for doctors - there is no training through virtual and augmented reality, as well as sufficient simulation training before entering clinical practice.

Milka Vassileva, Chairman of BFPA, summarized the key factors for satisfaction of health care professionals: respect on the part of society and colleagues, opportunities for professional and academic growth, the definition of a clear program for the formation of a starting salary and a step-by-step increase in wages, the maintenance of a high quality of training, the unification of the criteria for admission of students to the specialties of the Health Care Department in the higher education institutions offering them.

Lilyana Petrova, Chairman of BAPF, presented several problems related to the motivation and realization of assistant pharmacists in Bulgaria, as well as the need for synchronization of Bulgarian legislation with European practices and international standards.

Alexander Alexandrov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Medical Association, presented the opportunities offered by the profession of medical assistant. These medical professionals diagnose, treat common diseases and can prescribe medications. It was recalled that even now a large part of the emergency workers are medical assistants and paramedics. According to BSLAF, with the more active integration of medical assistants in the healthcare system, many of the problems with the personnel crisis in outpatient care can be solved in the short term within a few years. In this regard, attention was drawn to the urgent need to increase the number of students in this specialty, especially in Northern Bulgaria. The representatives of BSLAF suggested that the profession of medical assistant should also be protected.

The participants in the meeting agreed on the conclusion that there are two large groups of problems - the first group unites the problems in training and the second - the problems related to the retention of health professionals by employers in Bulgaria. They decided to set up a working group within one month, including representatives from each of the professional organisations present, as well as from the Bulgarian Medical Association, one representative from each specialty in the field of health care of higher education institutions, as well as from university and municipal hospitals as employers. Within two months the working group to come forward with proposals to the line ministries for changes in terms of both university training of health professionals and employers in the healthcare system. Develop a unified strategy for the development of the Health Care strand. In terms of communication, join efforts in a nationwide information campaign that will increase the interest of young people in the professions of health care professionals.

You can read the press release of MU-Pleven on the website of BTA (Official Acts and Communications) via the button below.

BTA

Alexander Alexandrov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BULFA, in front of Stoycho Stoychev, in a Saturday edition of ‘For Health’:

My colleagues and members of our professional organization can successfully perform basic medical activities and work in practices unattractive to doctors - in urgency, in remote and hard-to-reach areas.

This would solve the big problem of access to health care and the existing imbalances.

Alexandrov presented the organization and outlined the most important tasks ahead of it.  Feldshers, who already have the status of medical assistants, are trained to work both on emergencies and to perform the functions of diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

All participation can be listened to via the button below.

BNR