The responsibility of medical profession is very much related with sickness, health and human life. Therefore, it is normal if the time required for medical education is relatively long and busy. In the Netherlands, to undergo co-assistance program takes three years. "Therefore, efforts to increase the quality of medical education continue to be developed, this became a simultaneous agenda in order to materialize a qualified and trustful physician in carrying out their medical profession.
This was conveyed by the Dean of Faculty of Medicine of Universitas Gadjah Mada, dr. RR. Titi Savitri P.M.A, M.Med.Ed., Ph.D., at Grha Sabha Pramana, Thursday (19/1), while inaugurating 127 new doctors. She said that in order to provide protection to the patients, the inauguration of the new doctor is not the end of the physicians’ education. The career journey to become a doctor is still long. After the inauguration, the new doctors have to undergo a competency test conducted by the Physicians College of Indonesia. "As mandated by Law No. 29/2004 on the Practice of Medicine, a certificate of competence is awarded after a new doctor has successfully passed this test, thus they can apply for Certificate of Registration," she said.
For physicians who want to practice the profession, they can apply for Practice License to the local Public Health Service. The long process and the law is a form of earnest efforts in maintaining and improving the quality of medical services given by physicians in order to provide legal certainty to the public and physicians themselves. "Therefore, Faculty of Medicine is happy to provide advanced learning, both degree and short-term, non-degree continuing education to enhance the knowledge and skills," she said.
Head of the Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office, dr. Sarminto, M. Kes., hoped that the new doctors immediately implement their professionalism so that they would not be trapped in a narrow routine professionalism. Most doctors believe that medical science only focuses on the problems of disease, while in fact in addition to physical intervention, physicians ideally should play a role in moral and social interventions in the community. The doctors are required to implement the Triassic role of physician, i.e., able to act as agent of change, agent of development and agent of treatment. "We know WHO has long campaigned for the Five Stars Doctor with the ability to serve as community leader, have good communication skills (communicator), capable of managing things (manager), a reliable decision maker and service provider (care provider)," said Sarminto.
Sarminto reminds that the physicians’ competence and professionalism are prerequisites that should not be negotiable. Therefore, the ability to establish communication with patients should continue to be sharpened and enhanced. "Consequently, the doctors in Indonesia can actually apply their knowledge according to competence and always stick to the Code of Medical Ethics," he added.
Of the 127 new physicians who are inaugurated, as many as 30 new doctors come from the International Program. The average study time was 5 years 2 months, with the youngest graduate, 20 years and 8 months old, is Alexander Randy Angianto. Meanwhile, as many as 10 new doctors are declared as the best graduates while the best GPA, 3.91, is achieved by Kartika Apshanti.