A program to establish a private school for medical studies, in which 100-70 Israeli students will study in each class and operate in collaboration with Sheba Medical Center, has recently been promoted by Prof. Uriel Reichman, founder and chairman of the board of Reichman University (formerly the Interdisciplinary Center) in Herzliya. (E) Roni Linder in The Marker.
Another similar matter
According to the report, Prof. Reichman is trying to recruit donors for a project that will require approvals from the Council for Higher Education, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Health. There are currently six medical schools in Israel at public universities in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Beer Sheva, Haifa, Bar Ilan and Ariel.
According to the report, the tuition fee has not yet been determined but is expected to be several tens of thousands of shekels a year. The state subsidizes each student with about NIS 65,000 a year during his studies – not including tuition of about NIS 11,000 a year. According to this calculation, the cost of training a medical student is about NIS 75,000 per year.
The report states that Prof. Reichman “plans to finance the establishment of the school through donations, but is expected to be criticized for the fact that the medical studies track is intended only for the rich and students who can afford a total tuition fee of hundreds of thousands of shekels.” It does, however, offer state scholarships to students “on a socioeconomic basis.”
Israel is currently the world champion in the Western world in the proportion of doctors trained outside the country – 60%. Along with excellent schools abroad, there are also low-level schools with minimal clinical training. In the last decade, the rate of increase in medical license recipients studying abroad (22% per year) has been higher than that of Israeli graduates (7% per year). Among foreign graduates, medical school graduates in countries that have been disqualified double the number of students who have studied in approved institutions abroad. As a result, a dramatic decrease in the number of new licensees is expected in the coming years, which necessitates a rapid response to the increase in the number of new medical students in Israel and in approved institutions.
Prof. Reichman: “This situation necessitates the establishment of two more medical schools and we are able to do that. We consider it an issue of first-rate national importance.”
Reminder: In January, a committee from the Council for Higher Education (MLAG) recommended increasing the number of medical students in Israel by 50% – from about 800 to 1,200 in each cycle, within four years.