The Ministry of Health managed to reverse the trend towards a decrease in the number of medical workers, said the head of the department, Mikhail Murashko, at a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation. He associated this with additional payments in primary care, which had a “good effect and attracted personnel to small localities.” The next step is the development of a new mentoring program for graduates of medical schools and colleges. President Vladimir Putin emphasized that this system should not become “formal” and gave corresponding instructions.
President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, June 23, held a meeting on the mentoring system in medicine. Let us recall that on March 1, 2026, a law came into force establishing a mandatory period of work for graduates of medical universities in hospitals and clinics from the compulsory medical insurance system. The duration of such work cannot exceed three years; it should take place under the guidance of a mentor – an experienced doctor of the relevant specialty. The graduate may refuse, but then he will not be allowed to undergo periodic accreditation, which medical workers are required to undergo every five years. At the discussion stage, this initiative aroused criticism from the professional community and the public.
In particular, mentoring was compared with Soviet distribution. However, the Ministry of Health insisted on the need to pass the law in this form in order to solve the personnel problem in the healthcare system.
“We are not talking about distribution in the literal sense of the word, as it was back in Soviet times,” Vladimir Putin emphasized at the meeting. “To start his career, the graduate himself chooses a medical institution. The main thing is that it participates in the program of state guarantees for the provision of free medical care.” The president added that mentoring should not be formal or lead to overload, otherwise it could “devalue the very meaning of the decisions made.” Therefore, he instructed the State Council commission in the direction of “Long and Active Life,” the ONF and the National Medical Chamber to monitor the implementation of the program: “We need to be in touch with young specialists and their mentors, collect and analyze their comments and suggestions.” In parallel, the Ministry of Health will have to generalize the best mentoring practices, bring them to medical institutions and, based on this experience, “organize methodological support” for the regions.
Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko recalled that regional authorities should provide social support measures to young professionals – first of all, provide them with housing. According to the minister, from October the Ministry of Health will begin “monitoring the implementation of such measures.” At the meeting, Mr. Murashko separately addressed the governors with a request to support young doctors and “ensure that mentoring issues are resolved.” Speaking about the personnel situation, the minister assured the president that the department managed to reverse the “persistent and extremely negative” trend towards a decrease in the number of health workers. He associated this with additional payments in primary care, which had a “good effect and attracted personnel to small localities.”
Mr. Murashko also boasted of an increase in the number of students at medical universities. According to him, since 2020, enrollment in specialty programs has increased by 43.5%, in residency – by 30%, and in graduate programs – by 49%. “In 2026, at the expense of budgetary funds, we expect to admit more than 83 thousand people to secondary vocational education programs, more than 35 thousand to specialty programs and 20 thousand people to residency,” he added. At the same time, the majority of state employees in specialty programs and almost 80% of residents will be trained under a target agreement: “This means that they are trained for specific medical organizations, they already understand the place where they are expected, and they will come to work in a prepared institution.”
