Israeli students instead of Americans in medical studies:
starting with the 2023 academic year, the number of medical students in Israel will increase by approximately 130 Israeli students - following the expected closure of medical study programs in which students from abroad study.
The Council for Higher Education has decided to freeze the registration for the international medical programs, under which approximately 130 students from abroad are accepted each year. This is important news for 130 Israelis who will now be able to be admitted to medical studies in Israel.
The news is also good for the field of medicine, which has been in a long-standing shortage of male and female doctors.
The rate of doctors in Israel currently stands at about 3.14 doctors per thousand people, compared to an average of 3.5 in the OECD countries.
Half of the doctors in Israel are over 55 years old.
In recent years there has been an attempt to increase the number of medical students, but the universities themselves often oppose this with various excuses.
The new move is expected to increase the number of medical graduates in Israel by about 15%.
Today, 880 students complete their medical studies each year in the five faculties in Israel.
Most of the new doctors in Israel, almost 60%, are graduates of medical studies abroad - while only 40% are graduates of institutions in Israel.
In the coming academic year, 2018, the number of medical students is expected to increase by approximately 70 students, and the number of students who will begin their studies is expected to be approximately 965. In the 2018 academic year, an increase of 130 more students is expected - that is, 1,095 medical students will begin their studies .
Currently, there are three international medical programs operating in Israel, within the framework of which students from abroad (mainly from the USA) come to study medicine in Israel.
The programs take place at Tel Aviv University, Technion and Ben Gurion University. These are four-year programs. The vast majority of these students return to their countries upon graduation and do not stay in Israel.
The decision to close the programs and open the places for Israeli students is even more critical, in light of the reform decided by the Ministry of Health ("Stable Reform") which cancels the recognition of medical studies from several countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, where there is a high concentration of Israeli students.
Following this move, the number of licenses that will be given to doctors is expected to decrease significantly starting in 2025.
According to the Minister of Education, Dr. Yifat Shasha Biton, who also serves as the chairperson of the MLA, "Increasing the number of places for Israeli students in the medical professions is an important move that will increase the number of doctors in Israel in the future.
In this way, the growing needs of the State of Israel will be met, as part of our overall plan to significantly increase the number of medical students.
This is a national mission, and I thank the Minister of Health, the chairman of the HTA and all the other partners who joined the move."
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