Completing your studies at a medical university and receiving a diploma of higher education does not mean that the graduate can immediately begin working in his specialty.
To start a medical career, he needs to undergo an internship and acquire practical skills that will allow him to work fully and treat people. What is an internship? Why is it needed and how much time should be spent on postgraduate training?
What is an internship?
Term "internship" comes from the word internus, which translated from Latin means "interior" . Internship is a form of education that begins after graduating from medical school.
It belongs to the primary postgraduate specialization and is carried out on the basis of a medical institution under the guidance of the university department. After completing the internship, the student receives a certificate and can begin working in a hospital or clinic.
During the internship, the future doctor is engaged in practical medical activities, but cannot independently make any decisions (for example, establish a diagnosis and finally prescribe treatment) and is not responsible for his work. 
The entire educational process is accompanied by testing in various fields of medicine, and upon completion, certification is carried out, upon successful completion of which the student becomes a specialist in the chosen field.
Who are the interns?
Medical students who undergo internships are called interns. Their training is carried out on the basis of an employment agreement (contract), which future doctors conclude with a medical institution.
Training is carried out according to an individual plan developed by the student’s supervisor. The student must record the implementation of this plan in the intern’s diary, which is reviewed and endorsed by the supervisor every week.
If an intern does not pass the certification the first time, he is not given a certificate, but a certificate indicating that he has completed the internship. Further, he has the right to work as a practicing doctor.
How long does the internship last?
Typically, the duration of an internship is 1 year, including vacation. Internship is allowed only on a day hospital basis. 
There is no correspondence internship, since a university graduate must complete a practical course in a medical institution. Students who study on a budget undergo internships for free.
Contract workers pay for their training, but do not receive job guarantees. There is the possibility of a free internship, but for this you need to find a hospital that will agree to hire an intern and pay for his practical training. Most often, this is possible thanks to hospitals located far from regional centers.
Is internship required for medical graduates?
Internship is mandatory for all medical graduates. Without passing it, the student cannot begin to work as a practicing doctor. It is possible to do without an internship only if he plans to conduct scientific activities at one of the research institutes.
There are a number of exceptions that allow you not to study in an internship, but to obtain the right to work in medical institutions. To do this, the graduate must enter residency or.
How is an internship different from a residency?
Residency is part of a multi-level training of specialists, within which students receive in-depth knowledge of their chosen profile. Its main difference from internship is the development of a narrower specialty, and one can only get into residency on a competitive basis. 
It is not required to pass, but it does provide future doctors with certain benefits, such as the opportunity to later hold leadership positions in a hospital. The duration of residency is 2 years, which means it takes a year longer to complete than internship.
The opportunity to receive a full-fledged education is of concern to both students of medical universities and those who are just preparing to enter medical school. And therefore, one question is extremely relevant for future doctors: will there be an internship in 2016-2017 or not?
Internship in 2017
According to state educational standards, a graduate of a higher educational institution with a medical profile must be fully prepared to work in the healthcare sector. Therefore, such a form of education as internship is completely abolished.
So, everyone who entered universities from 2013 and later, asking the question “will internships be canceled in 2017?”, should know:
On September 1, 2016, internships for pharmaceutical and dental specialties are canceled; On September 1, 2017, internships for pediatric and therapeutic specialties are canceled.
Main changes
What will change with the cancellation of internships in 2017? What should future graduates expect? About...
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The scheme of education in medical universities in Russia has changed radically. Due to the cancellation of internships, many are afraid that dropouts will come to clinics. The introduction of new medical standards divided doctors into two classes.
Since 2016, future local pediatricians and therapists begin studying under a shortened program, which involves six years of training. Potential surgeons, cardiologists and other medical specialists will have to spend 8 to 11 years studying.
As it was
Previously, all doctors studied for seven to eight years. It took six years to study at medical school, and then either an internship for a year or a two-year residency. Moreover, in some specialties it was necessary to go through both of these steps. However, for many medical specialists, one internship or residency to choose from was enough.
An intern and a resident are considered something like students in a medical institution, since they are not on the staff and do not receive salaries. They are essentially doing...
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For future graduates and applicants to medical universities, the issue of obtaining a full-fledged education is becoming increasingly relevant. After the federal standard for third generation education comes into force in the Russian Federation, the approach to training future doctors will change. Since January 2016, internships have been abolished for those who have chosen dentistry and pharmacy as their specialization, and since 2017 – for pediatric and medical and preventive faculties. The innovations apply to those who have entered a medical school since 2013. Let’s take a closer look at what such innovations bring to the training of doctors, and how they will train medical workers in Russia.
The essence of medical education reform
New state education standards state that graduates of medical universities must be absolutely ready to start working in the healthcare system. This is what explains the need to cancel internship training. Beginning with...
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Internship in 2017, or, more precisely, the question of whether it will be canceled or not, is one of the discussions among students and those entering medical educational institutions, and who want to receive a complete and decent, and, most importantly, high-quality and highly professional education.
Do you need an internship?
Currently, there are state standards and parameters that are prescribed by law, according to which a graduate of a higher educational institution with a medical profile and orientation is fully prepared to work in the healthcare system. And what does it mean? And the fact is that precisely thanks to this approach to the education system, the internship system can be simplified or even abolished as unnecessary and incapacitating. This issue is especially acute and relevant among those students who entered universities in 2013 and later. It should be noted that some transformations and actions in this direction have already been made last year, 2016. Like this...
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For applicants to most medical universities, as well as for many graduates of these same institutions, the question of obtaining a full-fledged and in-demand education is becoming increasingly relevant and pressing. It’s only after the federal standard for relative training of the third generation comes into force that the approach to training future doctors will radically change in Russia. For example, from January 2016, internship is abolished for those who decide to choose a future specialization in dentistry and pharmacy. Since 2017, a similar outcome will affect those wishing to receive specialization in the faculties of treatment and prevention and pediatrics. First of all, those applicants who entered their studies in 2013 will be eligible for the 2017 innovations.
To understand whether internship will be canceled in 2017 and what innovations we should expect in this area, it is worth discussing this issue in more detail.
The essence of the 2017 reform regarding medical education
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Our expert is the rector of the Nizhny Novgorod State Medical Academy, Professor Boris Evgenievich Shakhov.
One diploma is enough
Elena Shitova, AiF. Health. Drug Review: Boris Evgenievich, what is the fundamental difference between the new educational standard?
Boris Shakhov: Unlike the previous standard, our graduates, after receiving their diplomas, will have the right to work independently as doctors. Previously, they had to first obtain a certificate, which required completion of an internship and/or residency.
– The internship is cancelled, what will happen to the residency?
– Residency remains, its duration in all specialties of training will be 2 years. It will become a type of postgraduate education for those who want to acquire a narrow specialty, for example, to work as a cardiac surgeon, neurologist, etc.
– Where and who can a newly minted specialist with a diploma from a medical university work for?
– Graduates of medical universities will receive...
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How the standard of medical education has changed, why internship is being abolished and what will replace it, where and who can a young specialist work immediately after graduating from medical school, what are the advantages of university clinics, and why accreditation of doctors is being introduced - the rector of the First Moscow State Medical University spoke about this in an interview with MedNews named after I.M. Sechenov Petr Glybochko.
“First of all, practical training”
– Pyotr Vitalievich, why did you need to change the standard of medical education? What are the features of the new doctor training programs?
The introduction of a new educational standard of the third generation (FSES-3) since 2011 was due to the requirements of the modern labor market, international trends in the development of higher education and Russia’s accession to the Bologna process. The main features of Federal State Educational Standard-3 are a competency-based approach, a level training system (bachelor's and master's degrees), expansion of academic freedoms at universities and the introduction...
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By September 2017, medical schools will say goodbye to internships. Who will treat us from the flu in 2017?
This is, perhaps, the question that should be asked by those who fell ill this year or happily avoided infection.
The fact is that 2016 and 2017 are a time of great change for medical students, and therefore for all of us. From September of this year, internships for dentists and pharmacists are canceled, and from September 2017 – for pediatricians and therapists (Federal Law No. 323 of November 21, 2011 “On the fundamentals of protecting the health of citizens in the Russian Federation”).
The internship is twelve months of practical training. Previously, specialists were not allowed into practical healthcare without completing a one-year postgraduate education course. Now, in order to go to work in a clinic, it will be enough to obtain a university diploma.
Only if a young doctor dreams of becoming a surgeon or, say, a cardiologist, will he need to complete...
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Graduates of higher medical educational institutions are required to undergo primary postgraduate training - residency. With its help, future doctors are able to develop independent skills and achieve a certain level of mastery in such a difficult task as providing emergency medical care to the population.
Residency 2017 includes not only testing in medical specialties, but also conducts a qualifying stage based on passing exams. Resident education is considered expensive, since the cost per year is comparable to paying in advance for 2-3 courses at a medical institution.
The education system is moving forward every year. If previously new developments affected secondary educational institutions, then in the future they will also affect medical universities. Mostly new developments will follow during the internship. It is planned to be canceled in 2016. Instead, students will take exams according to the state federal standard.
The planned innovation is assessed by medical specialists in two ways. For example, some of them believe that such an approach to direct higher education will negatively affect the level of training of future doctors. Others, on the contrary, argue that the planned changes will certainly lead to an improvement in the receipt of medical services by patients in general. How this will actually happen is impossible to decide at the present time. But the problem of whether the internship will be canceled from 2016 excites many future healers in snow-white coats.
After certain studies and analyses, scientists came to the correct conclusion that today the level of training of young specialists is at the lowest level. In this case, the data is submitted for the period until the planned changes have been introduced.
If the internship is canceled in 2016, it turns out that after graduating from a certain higher educational institution of a medical profile, young specialists will have to begin directly performing personal work responsibilities. If previously, after graduating from university, they became interns and continued to receive the qualifications they needed, but now, after students leave the doors of these institutions, they must immediately sit in the offices of medical institutions.
Among other things, experts in the above-mentioned service sector argue that obtaining a higher education diploma alone will not be enough to work in clinics. The question of the quality and effectiveness of medical services remains open. Will yesterday's students be able to provide effective assistance to injured or sick people? In order to slightly counteract the new products of next year, enhanced training lessons have been introduced into specialized medical education, allowing young personnel to become more qualified and prepared. Among other things, the new standards indicate that future specialists will need to undergo additional advanced training once every 5 years, followed by passing the required exams.
Residency question
When the internship cancellation occurs in 2016, the law states that it will continue to do so. What does it mean?
A student who has received a higher education in the relevant field has the right to go to work in any medical institution, and then undergo important residency training in his field of work. Currently, the number of years a young doctor must work after graduating from university is 3 years. This amount of time is not indicated in any valid document, but this figure is verbally discussed. After working the required amount of time in a medical institution, a young specialist has the right to enter residency training. The period of pre-graduation practice in case of admission to residency increases to 5 years.
What will happen after changes in the medical structure?
It is planned that after the cancellation of the internship in 2016, the massive problem with personnel in medical structures will be positively resolved. But this medal has 2 mandatory sides.
At a glance, young professionals will fill vacancies in medical institutions. On the other hand, poorly trained specialists will not be able to answer all their patients’ personal questions.
The only good thing is that gradually the young specialist will receive practical life experience. Accordingly, with each subsequent year of work he will gain more life skills. Another advantage is that once every 5 years, a medical specialist will need to confirm his qualifications and improve his knowledge with the help of relevant courses. All this will ensure improved quality of medical services.
According to senior specialists and scientific experts in the field of medical technologies, the abolition of internships will radically change the specifics of medicine. The new changes will affect not only higher educational institutions, but also secondary schools and medical schools.
Future doctors themselves do not yet appreciate the problem. Young people also have different opinions. For example, some young specialists are happy to begin direct practice after receiving the appropriate education. Others, on the contrary, want to thoroughly prepare themselves in medical theory in order to subsequently provide decent medical care.
Clinical residency is one of the parts of higher education of medical workers, a form of improving the professional qualities of a doctor, in which a medical worker becomes an independent specialist. It is represented in medical universities, faculties of medicine at universities and institutes for advanced training of medical personnel in the Russian Federation and post-Soviet countries.
In other words, residency is a form of independent learning in which the student has the opportunity to develop his professional skills, expand his knowledge in the field of medical technologies, and also help the healthcare system in solving personnel problems.
This form of training(like, in fact, internship), exists at the official level and is enshrined in law in 1994 by order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. By law, medical specialists and specialists in the field of pharmaceutical activities, as well as pharmacists, are allowed to take it.
The duration of full-time study is two years, however, under some circumstances it can be extended and last more than five years, including the work experience of a medical worker (according to the Regulations on Clinical Residency of 1993). Officially, residency is a job, and therefore length of service is calculated on a general basis.
Features of residency training
Residency training in Russia is not a mandatory part of the education of a medical worker, therefore this stage of specialist training is a conscious choice of the physician. As in any educational institution, there is a certain form of knowledge control. It may vary depending on the requirements of a particular educational institution, however, it is most often carried out in the form of tests, exams and oral presentations.
Any person who has a diploma of higher medical education can enroll in residency: both citizens of the Russian Federation and foreign students who have the appropriate international document giving them the right to study abroad are allowed to study.
Training takes place according to an individual plan, which is developed for residents by the supervisor. Most often, the manager becomes a specialist with some work experience - a professor, candidate of sciences or doctor of medical sciences. The individual work plan is approved by the head of the department.
What a residency is can be seen in the specialist training program. The classic resident set is:
- Lectures, seminars and practical classes;
- Lectures on related courses and disciplines of a narrow profile;
- Clinical rounds of patients followed by analysis of medical histories;
- Attending and speaking at meetings and conferences.
Residency training allows a medical worker to fill in the missing knowledge and prepare to work independently with patients under the supervision of a supervisor.
When entering the chosen educational institution, you should take into account the number of budget places in the direction. If budget places are filled through a competition, a medical worker has the right to apply for training on a paid basis.
Dental Residency
In the dental department there is also its own residency. During this residency, dental students undergo in-depth training in dentistry and practice, and upon completion they receive certificates that give them the right to independently see patients in a dental clinic or open their own doctor’s office.
Is it possible to study abroad?
As noted earlier, residency is a form of education characteristic of the Russian Federation and the countries of the former Soviet Union, therefore residency as such does not exist outside the CIS countries.
For those who want to undergo in-depth postgraduate training abroad, there is the opportunity to obtain the status of a medical assistant or take courses to confirm their specialization.
For example, in Italy, obtaining a specialization lasts from 2 to 6 years, and in Germany it is not possible to change the status of an assistant to the status of a doctor without passing an exam. This fully applies to doctors specializing in dentistry.
Fundamental differences between residency and internship
Many students often have questions about what is the difference between internship and residency, how long the training will take, and also where is the best place to enroll. So, in order to answer these questions, you need to understand what an internship is.
Internship is also One of the stages of training for specialists graduating from universities, however, is designed for accelerated completion. Young specialists who have completed six years of training and have a diploma of higher medical education are eligible to enter the internship.
Internship training time, in contrast to residency, is only one year, during which the intern, under the guidance of experienced doctors, is engaged in practical activities, however, does not make independent decisions and is not responsible for his actions.
After completing the training, the intern is issued a certificate of completion of the course, which indicates the specialty acquired by the student. This certificate gives the young specialist the right to work independently in the field of medicine.
The difference between internship and residency is as follows:
- Since internship training lasts half as long, the student will be assigned the status of a doctor earlier;
- In an internship, training is more general, while a residency trains more specialized specialists;
- The studies have some differences in the areas of preparation;
- A former resident has the right to apply for the title of head, but an intern does not.
A little about nice bonuses
In addition to additional knowledge and in-depth study of the subject of their activity, residency training provides the student with some benefits and guarantees:
Overall benefits of residency, although it lasts longer than the internship, is to give the graduate of a medical school more knowledge and practical experience for use in subsequent professional medical practice.
With innovations in the medical field, many current students and those planning to study to become doctors are wondering whether there will be an internship in 2018. Medical reforms have been enacted to fundamentally change the education of medical students, and the main change involves the complete abolition of internships.
According to amendments made to the federal law on “Protecting the Health of Citizens” in 2015, the internship will be abolished. The abolition process will take place in stages:
- From September 2016, internships will be canceled for pharmacy and dental students.
- From September 2017, pediatricians and therapists will no longer need to undergo an internship.
- From 2018, internships will cease to exist for all medical specialties.
According to the adopted innovations, now graduates of medical universities will be able to immediately work in clinics and outpatient clinics independently without the supervision of senior colleagues.
Previously, internship was a transitional stage between studying at a university and medical practice. For one year, students were required to work in hospitals and clinics to gain the necessary practical skills. At this stage of training, future doctors performed the functions of doctors, but under the supervision of senior colleagues. Future doctors did not receive payment for their work.
When studying for narrow specialties, students underwent residency. It lasts 2 years and is aimed at gaining skills in a narrow specialization, for example, neurology, surgery, gynecology, neontology. In some cases, it was necessary to undergo both an internship and a residency, that is, after medical school, another 1–3 years had to be spent acquiring practical skills. An intern or resident received a certificate that allowed him to conduct independent medical practice.
Internship and residency will be canceled in 2018 and will remain in the near future. It will be needed for narrow specialties. A student will be able to go to residency after a year of working as a therapist in a clinic.
Cancellation of internship and training process
Due to the cancellation of the internship, the training process will also be changed. To ensure that graduates have sufficient knowledge and skills after graduation, practice will be increased. The number of practical lessons will be increased in each course of study, starting from the first year.
During practical lessons, students will practice on simulators and go to hospitals and clinics to hone their skills. Leading doctors and candidates of medical sciences express doubts regarding this scheme for acquiring knowledge. And there are several reasons for this:
- Due to the increase in the number of practical lessons, highly specialized specialists will not be able to obtain enough theoretical knowledge.
- The learning process is more aimed at obtaining general knowledge, which complicates the training of surgeons, gynecologists, dermatologists and other specialized specialists.
- Simulators cannot replace living patients, so the skills acquired during the training process may not be enough to provide qualified medical care in real life.
At the same time, teachers at the Voronezh Medical Institute and other educational institutions claim that they graduate specialists prepared for independent work, so there is no need to waste time on internships.
Certification and accreditation
Previously, future doctors received a certificate after completing an internship, which gave them the right to practice. Every 5 years, qualifications had to be improved by taking courses and obtaining another certificate.
Once the 2018 internship is cancelled, certificates will be replaced by accreditation. Immediately after completing university studies, the graduate must undergo accreditation, since it is impossible to work in a clinic with only one diploma. In the process of activity, the doctor will be awarded points that will confirm accreditation. Accreditation points are awarded:
- For attending medical seminars, conferences and other similar events.
- For writing scientific articles and books.
- For carrying out complex operations and manipulations.
Practicing doctors will have to confirm their accreditation for the first time in 2021. Some doctors are very concerned about this innovation, because they worry about who will pay for such trips, and whether the daily work of the doctor will be evaluated, and also who will work with patients if everyone writes articles and goes to seminars and conferences.
Why is it necessary to cancel the internship in 2018?
Currently, there is an acute shortage of personnel in the first level of medical care in outpatient facilities and clinics, especially in rural areas. Health officials believe that the abolition of internships will solve this problem, since graduates of medical universities will be able to immediately go to work in clinics, which will fill open vacancies.
To solve the problem of a shortage of specialists in a narrow field, students will be required to work in the institutions from which they were sent.
What results will come from canceling the internship, only time will tell.