Northeastern Estonian hospitals join forces to attract new doctors
Hospitals in Ida-Viru County are teaming up for a joint campaign to attract doctors to the understaffed region.
The northeastern region's medical institutions are short about 100 doctors. Ida-Viru Central Hospital (IVKH) in Kohtla-Järve, the county's largest, could hire up to 30 immediately, but applicants aren't exactly lining up for the job.
The hospital plans to target med school students early, hoping internships will encourage them to consider careers in the region after graduation.
"If they come here for an internship and like it, they'll talk to others about their experience," said Pille Letjuka, chief physician at IVKH. "And once that connection has been established, it's much easier to get that doctor or nurse to come back and work for us later."
The state offers doctors taking jobs at hospitals outside Estonia's main population centers a relocation bonus of up to €30,000, but money alone has proven not to always the problem.
"I've made salary offers that have left people in Tallinn gasping, but unfortunately, I still haven't found anyone willing to come here for that money," said Narva Hospital board member Üllar Lanno.
He said years of distrust have made doctors reluctant to consider the border city, thus prompting the new campaign.
Ida-Viru hospitals say the shortage is actually nationwide and competition for new doctors is fierce. Lanno said the state should increase medical school enrollment to address the shortage.
"I think the best solution for Estonia today would be to train 30 percent more doctors to make up for the 33 percent who never complete their residency," he said.
That, he added, would significantly increase the likelihood of future doctors eventually ending up in hospitals.
Unrivaled experience
Doctors already working Ida-Viru County, meanwhile, point to the unique experience they gain there.
"A doctor who works 24-hour shifts in the Emergency Department or ICU at Ida-Viru Central Hospital could go anywhere and work in any hospital in the world," said Neeme Somma, head anesthesiology and intensive care at the hospital. "They have the experience to cope with whatever situation comes their way."
Hospitals in the region have also relied on temporary assignments to fill staffing gaps, with more than a third of specialist doctors working in Ida-Viru County also working elsewhere in Estonia.
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Aili Vahtla
