“We grow with our patients” – breaking latest news

Laura Lorenzoni she is 31 years old, she has chosen to work in a group because she considers it a way to continue to grow and is convinced that being a family doctor is rewarding, because it allows you to follow the patients over time. Giulio Arturo Petazzi35, proud to be the reference point for patients. Silvia Gentili, born in 1989, fell in love with the profession in the field. She and 22 other colleagues yesterday received the diploma to crown the three years of training in general medicine.

Family doctors: new skills

Applause, souvenir photo at the San Carlo hospital (where they followed the internship) and the encouragement of the councilor for Welfare Letizia Moratti, which underlines how important they are for the success of the reform just launched and for the implementation of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The strengthening of territorial health passes through you – he says to the recent graduates -. We are preparing the structures, we have the funds of the PNRR, but the soul of the community houses is you. Moratti recalls that the figure of the family doctor must change. Your profession will increasingly require teamwork with different professions – he adds -. I think of the interaction you will have with the social welfare part. This is a small revolution, because it will push you to leave that comfort zone that we all try to keep. It also touches on the theme of the reorganization of their role, which is being discussed in Rome. In the past, the commissioner has expressed his point of view on the issue, arousing the protests of the trade unions: family doctors work for fewer hours than hospital colleagues, the disparity must be balanced.

Retired the old computer system

Then, the promise: We will be close to you and we will try to give you all the facilities that general practitioners do not yet have. Specifically, thedepartment intends to improve the Siss, the health and social information system that gives doctors a lot of problems. We have made contact with Tim and we are reviewing the whole system – says Moratti -. We will leave in April. Doctors will be able to connect from any device, even mobile ones, and will have better network coverage. Today, however, they can only access the portal from the studio. Lombardy then, together with Puglia, will create telemedicine platforms that will also be used by the other Regions.

The debut in the pandemic

Tools that – if properly developed – will help young people to face the challenge of territorial health. Some recent high school graduates debuted in full pandemic with a small patient base (650). A baptism of fire – says Gentili -. I opened the clinic on February 17, 2020. A few days later the lockdown was triggered. In the first months I was looking for points of reference, but there weren’t. I felt like a castaway.

Pros and cons of the trade

At the end of the course the ceiling on the number of assisted fell, which soon broke through 1,500. Many citizens said they chose me because I am young, I have more energy and will not retire soon, explains Petazzi. Pros and cons of the profession? We never get bored, we never fossilize on the same pathologies – replies Gentili -. But we are sometimes seen as second-rate doctors, disheartening.

The needs of the territory

The 136 doctors who completed their training in 2021 and the 351 who will finish it this year are the first response to the needs of the area. In the announcement just published by the Region, there are 1,166 areas lacking, i.e. areas without a doctor (including freely chosen pediatricians). It is estimated that 2,456 professionals will reach retirement age in the next 5 years. However, thanks to the recent increase in scholarships, by the end of 2022 there will be approximately 1,150 trainees at the same time. The generational change in progress.

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