{"id":142310,"date":"2025-06-11T19:08:52","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"official-plays-down-doctor-shortage-despite-long-queue-in-clinics","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/","title":{"rendered":"Official plays down doctor shortage despite long queues in clinics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(Usman Yousaf \/ unsplash.com)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>June 11, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> The Belarusian healthcare system has substantial human resources and should use them rationally, said Volha Kalupanava, department head at the Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her comments come amid reports of doctor shortages and long queues at state-run outpatient clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I cannot say that we have a problem, a staff shortage, especially among specialists in the regions,&#8221; the official told reporters in Minsk. &#8220;We&#8217;ve introduced a system of fast-track certification for doctors of related specialty through advanced training programs.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>General practitioners can retrain as cardiologists, endocrinologists or neurologists. Every year, about 20,000 doctors and 15,000 medical workers take these courses, Kalupanava said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fast-track system has come under fire from health professionals who fled Belarus after 2020 mass postelection protests fearing political persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier, doctor Stanis\u0142a\u016d Sa\u0142aviej, the opposition United Transitional Cabinet&#8217;s social welfare chief, told <em>Pozirk<\/em> that retraining is a suspiciously swift process. A therapist can retrain as a neurologist in four months for a clinic to cover both positions, he said. In some areas, a doctor may perform different specialty functions even before retraining, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On June 11, the national job bank listed 2,833 openings for specialist physicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u041e\u0431\u0449\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">\u041e\u0431\u0449\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Foreign medical student numbers surge in Belarus since 2020<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">June 11, Pozirk. Some 20,000 students are enrolled at four Belarusian medical schools in Viciebsk, Minsk, Homiel and Hrodna, including 5,000 foreigners from 63 countries, Volha Kalupanava of the health ministry has told journalists. The number of foreign students rose &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/142266\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>June 11, Pozirk. The Belarusian healthcare system has substantial human resources and should use them rationally, said Volha Kalupanava, department head at the Ministry of Health. Her comments come amid reports of doctor shortages and long queues at state-run outpatient clinics. &#8220;I cannot say that we have a problem, a staff shortage, especially among specialists [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":128684,"template":"","rubric":[15],"class_list":["post-142310","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Official plays down doctor shortage despite long queues in clinics | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"June 11, Pozirk. The Belarusian healthcare system has substantial human resources and should use them rationally, said Volha Kalupanava, department head\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Official plays down doctor shortage despite long queues in clinics | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"June 11, Pozirk. The Belarusian healthcare system has substantial human resources and should use them rationally, said Volha Kalupanava, department head\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/\"},\"headline\":\"Official plays down doctor shortage despite long queues in clinics\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-11T16:08:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/\"},\"wordCount\":200,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/\",\"name\":\"Official plays down doctor shortage despite long queues in clinics | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/142310\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/doktor_usman_yousaf_unsplash_1128x752.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-11T16:08:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T20:10:49+00:00\",\"description\":\"June 11, Pozirk. 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