On November 17, Vladimir Putin signed a law requiring graduates of medical specialties to complete three years of mandatory service in hospitals and clinics operating under the compulsory health insurance system. The outlet Vetter, which first published the material, spoke with doctors from different regions about whether the measure can ease staff shortages and improve care.
Parliament passed the Health Ministry bill through all three readings within a month. Before final approval, some graduates were exempted from mandatory mentorship, including pharmacists and specialists in several sanitary and hygiene fields. For those who take jobs in occupied territories, as well as in rural areas and small towns, the required service period will be cut in half by ministerial decision.
Deputy Health Minister Tatyana Semenova told lawmakers the initiative was meant to improve the quality and accessibility of medical care, especially in the regions. In response, students from Kazan Medical University and other schools sent an open letter to Mikhail Murashko and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, saying the law ignores basic principles of labor motivation and condemns the system to work with demotivated personnel.
Former deputy health and social development minister Alexander Safonov cited Article 37 of the Russian Constitution, saying people have the right to choose where they work and that obligations are justified only when someone knowingly enters targeted training with a prior commitment. He said the new practice could lead to court challenges.
Most of the doctors interviewed by Vetter said the law would not solve the personnel crisis and might deepen it. Philipp, an X-ray technician from Arkhangelsk, said he had expected salary increases and career opportunities instead. Artyomiy, a pediatrician from Moscow, argued that staffing gaps depend mainly on pay: vacancies in Moscow are filled much faster than in the regions. Tengiz, a deputy chief physician at a private clinic, believes the number of applicants and graduates at medical universities may drop sharply in the coming years; he says he already knows students who decided to leave after the law was signed.
Galina, a nurse from St. Petersburg, said her daughter, a medical student, had never planned to work in state medicine and is now considering dropping out. She also argued that graduates who study for eight years will effectively be sent to poorly paid peripheral jobs: after spending an estimated 10 to 12 million rubles on education, they may receive only 25,000 to 27,000 rubles a month at the start. The interviewees added that if the state imposes job placement, it should also provide housing, relocation payments, and other social guarantees.