Surgeon Abdul not allowed to work as GP in Norway – NRK Oslo and Viken – Local News, TV and Radio

Surgeon Abdul not allowed to work as GP in Norway - NRK Oslo and Viken - Local News, TV and Radio

Abdul Rashid Bhopal (54) was not admitted as a GB in Norway.

Even if he wanted to.

This is due to his lack of education, which all doctors must have. The course is called LIS1.

– I have applied eleven times, says Bhopal.

Doctors can apply for these posts twice a year. LIS1 stands for “Doctor in Specialization Part One”.

But even though there is a shortage of doctors in Norway today, and 235,000 Norwegians do not have GBThen there are not enough study places.

25 years in business

At a desk in a large communal office at Ullerud Health Center in Drøbak, Popal points to a computer screen.

He is working as a substitute clinic doctor here.

He shows his CV: more than 25 years as a doctor, several years as a surgeon, letters of reference from previous employers and many courses.

He is one Doctor of Medicine from Tashkent Medical Academy, Uzbekistan. He specializes in gastroenterology and has also served as a surgeon for Doctors Without Borders.

In other words, he is more than qualified for the job at the health center here.

Bhopal can point to many senior positions and years of work experience as a surgeon and physician.

Photo: Rolf Peter Oleisen

Bhopal can point to many senior positions and years of work experience as a surgeon and physician.

Photo: Rolf Peter Oleisen

He continues to be praised for this CV. But this is not enough in Norway.

– Do you have a LIS1 course, they ask me. No I’m not.

Competition with newly graduated doctors

Each time these study positions are advertised, approximately half are rejected. Many newly graduated doctors also prefer this course.

So many people are in the same boat in Bhopal.

Even if politicians want to solve the GP crisis NOK 690 million in the state budgetThey also propose a reduction of 31 annual LIS1 levels.

Bhopal has been called for only one job interview since 2017.

He believes there should be separate rules for doctors from abroad. In its proposal for the national budget, Storting asked the government to look into this more closely, recognizing the experience of doctors like Bhopal.

Abdul Rasheed Bhopal has over 25 years of experience in healthcare.

Before moving to Norway, Bhopal worked as a gastrosurgeon at Doctors Without Borders.

Photo: Rolf Peter Oleisen

Before moving to Norway, Bhopal worked as a gastrosurgeon at Doctors Without Borders.

Photo: Rolf Peter Oleisen

GP crisis

Despite the Norwegian GP crisis and years of experience, Bhopal, unwilling to contribute, didn’t get a chance.

He himself calls it differential treatment and ageism.

– The most disappointing thing is that you don’t even get feedback. On the one hand I am unworthy and on the other hand I am unworthy. I don’t know what else I can do, says Bhopal.

Abdul Rasheed is well-liked by patients and residents at Ullerud Health Building, Bhopal.

Popal also has a letter of recommendation for a LIS1 position from a former employer in the Norwegian healthcare system.

Photo: Rolf Peter Oleisen

Popal also has a letter of recommendation for a LIS1 position from a former employer in the Norwegian healthcare system.

Photo: Rolf Peter Oleisen

disturbance

Maja Elisabeth Mikkelsen, president of the Norwegian Medical Students’ Association, offers a simple explanation of the problem:

– The number of LIS posts does not meet the requirement.

The association believes Norway needs 150 more posts per year if it is to stop importing doctors from abroad.

Mickelson says doctors call it a bottleneck — a paradoxical problem.

– Now you need to have work experience as a doctor to get LIS1 status. Mickelson says the course is meant to be an entry level for doctors, where you get mentorship.

In 2019, Norway announced 950 such training positions. Today, the number is 1,150, but Mikkelsen explains that this number is still insufficient.

Maja Elizabeth Mikkelsen

Medical Students’ Union president blames political bias.

Photo: Medical Association

Medical Students’ Union president blames political bias.

Photo: Medical Association

NRK spoke to many of the newly graduated medical students who were rejected for positions this fall. Don’t dare talk about the problem at the risk of ruining it the next time you apply.

Gradual progress

Facing the LIS challenge, the Directorate of Health has indicated that there will be 200 new posts from 2019.

So there is an improvement, but the number of LIS1 posts is a budgetary issue outside the authority of the Health Directorate. T saysVision Director Sissel Husøy.

They would not comment on Bhopal.

Sissel Husoi, Divisional Director of the Directorate of Health, smiles at the camera.

Sissel Husoi, Divisional Director of the Directorate of Health, says the challenges in LIS1 positions are budgetary issues.

Photo: Thomas Martinsen

Sissel Husoi, Divisional Director of the Directorate of Health, says the challenges in LIS1 positions are budgetary issues.

Photo: Thomas Martinsen

– But is it correct that one has to study “Introductory Course” to work as Bhopal GP?

We are working to improve the LIS1 program and have proposed several measures for doctors with extensive clinical experience from abroad.

Husoi did not want to comment that many newly qualified doctors are afraid to speak out.

18 months of paperwork

In the last few years, Bhopal worked as a supervising physician in the Oslo area.

Here he worked alongside several doctors in LIS1 positions.

– I asked one of them what an LIS doctor did while on the job. He told me that he often writes income journals for 18 months.

Abdul Rasheed Bhopal was working at Ullerud Health Building when NRK met him.

Staff at Ullerud Hellspike believe that Bhopal will achieve LIS1 status.

Photo: Rolf Peter Oleisen

Staff at Ullerud helsebygg hope that Bhopal will achieve LIS1 status.

Photo: Rolf Peter Oleisen

Bhopal wants to make it clear that he has great respect for young doctors who have gone through years of theory and now have to get into practice.

– But they didn’t get it. We have to start using the resources we have.

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Joshi Akinjide

Joshi Akinjide

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