A doctor from Ukraine working in Poland: I am devastated by this situation, my parents are there

My interlocutor comes from Ukraine, but has been living in Poland for a year. He has academic titles that are not taken into account in our country. Originally, we were supposed to talk mainly about the health care system in Poland and Ukraine, but the situation in her country also provoked a political discussion. Due to the fact that sensitive topics were being raised, my interlocutor asked for anonymity.

1. On February 24, Our Country attacked Ukraine. Airports are bombed, people are killed
2. The conflict in Ukraine has been going on since 2014. For years my interlocutor lived in a “chronic state”. The day before the invasion, she said that Vladimir Putin has his hands untied and something bad could happen
3. – I found out about the bombing this morning. I’m just shocked. I am devastated by this situation, she says
4. Check your health. Just answer these questions
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

Agnieszka Mazur-Puchała, Medonet: I have to ask about the political situation in Ukraine. Are you, as a medic, thinking about going to your homeland now? To be a medic in a war?

A doctor from Ukraine who wants to remain anonymous: Yes, I have such thoughts to go there and help. I am also, in a way, militarily obligated as a doctor. I can get a summon if I need it. The political situation here is very difficult, and I left my parents in Ukraine. Of course, I was thinking about bringing them here, to Poland, where they would be safer. I have a permanent residence card based on a Pole’s card because I have Polish roots, but this does not apply to my parents. They could come here for three months, but for longer – there is no such possibility.

The situation in Ukraine is also very stressful for Poles. We follow media reports, we are afraid. You are still able to read about it, is this stress too much?

I follow the situation, it is very complicated and constantly changing. Now that Donbass and Luhansk are recognized as independent republics, Putin’s hands have dissolved. Yesterday I told you that we are afraid that he will go further. That he would be looking for an excuse for escalation. I found out about the bombing this morning. I’m just shocked. I am devastated by this situation, my parents are there. I had contact with them on the phone today. For now, my mother said it was calm, but it is not known what will happen next.

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We are not in the European Union, we are not in NATO. We feel that no one will protect us … We do not have NATO bases in Ukraine and we are alone with it. We will fight alone.

First Georgia, then the Balkans, now Ukraine. Who will be next? Lithuania, Latvia, Poland? Who?

The tense situation in Ukraine has lasted since 2014, since then there have been fights and people have been dying. Two years ago, you also lived under these circumstances, under such permanent stress.

I lived in the southern part of Ukraine, closer to the western border. In our country, life went on more normally, without martial law. Shops operated normally, children went to school, and students could study at universities. It was very hard in 2014 when it all started. At that time, we were constantly watching the news, we were very scared. Then it all turned into such a chronic state, it became commonplace. Eight years of permanent stress can make you start living your own life.

The rest of the text is below the video.

I have friends whose children fought in Donbas. Friends whose children died as a result of this war. I have not seen such deaths with my own eyes, I have not seen any destroyed buildings, because it did not happen in my part of Ukraine. And now I don’t know what will happen.

How did you get to Poland? Where did the decision to move from Ukraine come from?

I have been in Poland for a year and I have been working as a doctor for several months. My daughter went to study in Poland, my husband also followed her to support her and help her somehow. Then I also made the decision to leave. Together, we decided that family must come first, together. I wasn’t looking for a job in Poland, she found me a bit herself. At the beginning I wasn’t employed as a doctor at all, this is very difficult.

In what sense?

I have a postdoctoral degree, but I have it in Ukraine. Here in Poland, he just doesn’t count. I have to validate my diploma, then complete a postgraduate internship and a five-year specialization. Despite the fact that I have worked at a medical university and almost 15 years as a doctor behind me, I have to start everything from scratch.

Therefore, although there are many willing doctors and specialists from Ukraine who would like to work in Poland, they often give it up because of the complicated bureaucracy. This is very discouraging.

Now, in a pandemic, doctors from outside the European Union are hiring in Poland to work with COVID-19 patients in covid wards. I also work on the basis of this covid act.

You said that young doctors from Ukraine are thinking about working in Poland, despite these statutory difficulties. What is the reason for this? Is it about economic issues or, for example, about working conditions?

First, it is about earnings, this is an obvious question. Unfortunately, doctors in Ukraine do not earn as much as in Poland. In your country, after graduation, a trainee doctor earns 3-4 thousand. zloty. After graduation, such a young doctor earns relatively little money. This is a very difficult situation for a person with a family. Because how can you support this family if it is paid too little for its work?

When it comes to conditions in the healthcare system, we have some similarities, but there are also differences. Of course, we also have people who complain about hospital conditions, doctors, but for example we do not have records for treatments or specialist consultations. In Poland, when you want to have a specialist consultation with a nephrologist or gastroenterologist, privately, of course, you can do it right away. But if it is to be at the National Health Fund, you have to wait even 3-4 months. This is not the case with us. If someone, e.g. a child, needs consultation, we do it right away. At the same time, our private medicine is not so developed. It is common in Poland, and we have only a few such centers.

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We have very good specialists, relatively cheap dentistry, aesthetic medicine and cosmetology – so cheap that Poles also use these services. In turn, in Poland there are much better working conditions, there is modern equipment for carrying out various tests. Ukrainian state hospitals, unfortunately, do not have very modern equipment.

Among Polish beliefs about the health care system in Ukraine, it is probably the most common one regarding the difficulties associated with vaccinations. Not only against COVID-19, but also against tuberculosis or polio, for example. There is actually a problem with that? How does it look like?

It looks like we have a vaccination schedule according to international recommendations. The same as in Poland. The most important vaccinations are those included in the compulsory vaccination calendar, which in our country include, among others, vaccinations against: tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (whooping cough), polio, measles, mumps and rubella. We also have recommended vaccinations, including meningococcal, HPV, influenza, pneumococcal, COVID-19 vaccinations. We also have vaccines, they are quite available. However, we also have a lot of anti-vaccine parents who do not want to vaccinate their children. As a result, we had a measles epidemic four years ago. We, as doctors, of course, provide information that vaccines protect against dangerous diseases and that their positive effects outweigh the damage resulting from possible undesirable post-vaccination reactions.

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