Doctor “refused” after repatriation. Anna had chosen to return from the US, but “no one gives her a place”

PORDENONE – Not just brain drain. There is also the case of brilliant minds who want to go home and have the doors slammed in their faces. The complaint comes from Roberto Dall’Amico, director of the maternal and child department of Asfo, which includes the hospitals of Pordenone and San Vito al Tagliamento.

HISTORY
The story is that of one Venetian doctor which was to find a place in the Pordenone hospital. “Anna is a pediatrician. He has been working in the United States for twenty years – is the story of the head physician from Pordenone -. She left by herself. Not for money. Hardly anyone packs their bags for this. You leave to live in a different country, for love, to learn, because you feel you have to give yourself a new opportunity. Because there are still many pieces missing to complete the puzzle of your education and your life. A different sea where to stroll in the evening. The ocean in front of Los Angeles has a new flavor and light. Even if you can’t imagine what’s on the other side. Study. Work. Research. Publications in increasingly prestigious magazines – continues the narration of the brilliant career of the professional who moved from one coast to the other in the USA -. Anna did it. You have a name and a curriculum that allow you to see another sea. To go to Ellis Island often. Where so many Italians arrived before her. Then something changes inside Anna’s head. The professional satisfactions are many, the work is well paid and the hours are less demanding. But she feels she has to go home. Even if work and salary won’t be the same. She needs her sea of ​​her. To imagine again the countries that are on the other side of her Adriatic sea ». However, the ending of the story is bitter: «It’s not a good story – recalls Dall’Amico -. Because Anna won’t come back. No one is willing to give her a place. Not even far below what it should be worth for what it’s worth. Almost 15,000 Italian doctors have gone to work abroad in the last ten years. A tenth of those who graduate. Few will return. Because returning, as happened to Anna, is more difficult than leaving».

THE REASONING
The head physician also brought other examples of the difficulty of repatriating. «A neurologist resident in Veneto who worked for 5 years in one of the best European universities is forced to accept a fixed-term contract to be re-discussed upon expiry. Because it’s not even true that Italy lacks doctors. As also reported by the president of the Anelli orders, Italy is among the first places in Europe in terms of the ratio of doctors and residents, which is 4 per thousand. With a European average of 3.8 and an American average of 2.5 for every thousand inhabitants. Our problem is organizational. Too many small and underused emergency rooms, too many birth centers with a sharply declining birth rate and no possibility of real recovery. Only with the unification of birth points could we solve many problems related to the shortage of paediatricians and gynecologists, also avoiding the use of token holders who cost much more than structured doctors. Problems that our politicians know well but that they find it hard to face due to the many and sometimes understandable interests that revolve around these processes».

RECIPE
According to Dall’Amico, «leaks from the system are contained even in this way. Giving doctors the opportunity to work in numerically adequate teams, with demanding cases. Where there is the possibility of growth. Compensation always comes second. No one does this job for the money.” In this context, the situation of the maternal and child Department of Western Friuli appears to be a happy island. «We were lucky because the staff is practically full. This is due to the ability of professionals to team up and adapt to situations. They all revolve around both Pordenone and San Vito and this guarantees high quality».

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