Russian
Women Doctors & Their Foreign Husbands.
An
apple a day keeps the doctor away.
But if the doctor's cute, screw the fruit
When
foreign men search through the Internet and see many of the young Russian women
they are often surprised at how many of these young ladies have a higher education.
Of great interest to these men are the number of young women, 23 to 25 years of
age who put there education and profession of that of a doctor. Many of the men
have a hard time believing this and keep asking the same questions regarding this
being a doctor, over and over again.
Perhaps,
even you have asked the same question: Is it possible for these young women to
be a doctor?
Yes,
guys, it is possible and I want to explain a little bit about the educational
system in Russia. Believe me, I know what I am talking about because I finished
the medical university myself, in Russia. Don’t expect a detailed report
in this short article, as it is not my goal today but rather a short and general
picture.
In
Russia, students usually finished middle school, which is equivalent to American
high schools, when they are 17 years old.
Those,
who wish to become doctors, enter into the medical University immediately. They
finish middle school in June and by August have pass the entrance exam to the
university. In September they begin their first year as students of the medical
university. Each medical University has a strict program. And students can not
choose their own schedule or classes. They have to go to the University EVERY
day for 6 years. Classes begin a 8.00 A..M and continue on till 5.00 P.M. every
day except Sundays. Of course after school they have a great deal of homework.
They
have very short vacation after New Years from 10-14 days and about one month in
the summer. June is a completely busy month because they final exams at the end
of each year and in July they have internships in the hospitals. This practice
continues until the middle of August and a new school year begins again in September.
As in the previous year, there are no choices of classes. The curriculum is defined
by the school.
There
is literally no missing of classes whether for illness or any other reason. If
a student is ill, they must make up for the missed classes and prove to the teacher
that they know the material.
If
young woman gets married and then pregnant, she has opportunity to miss one year
of her studies and then return to the same level which she missed. It is call
"academic vacation".
Very
often a pregnant woman will choose another alternative, that of continuing on
in classes, uninterrupted until the birth of the baby. Women who chose not to
miss a year by taking the "academic vacation".do so without any special
considerations given to them. They don’t want to miss a year and continue
going to school as other students They will be treat as all other students are,
and will attend University every day. When it comes time to deliver the baby,
these women miss about three to five days of school and then returns to classes.
The
academic pace is very difficult, the courses are very stringent and the hours
that need to be devoted to study are very lengthy. The first three years of study
has a great deal of attrition. More than a third of the students who enter the
first year, drop out by the third year. Virtual all who remain will go on to finish
their studies.
Beginning
in the third year students study clinical disciplines such as surgery, therapies,
opthamology, gynecology and others. Their lessons are conducted no only in school
but at special hospitals. These hospitals have special auditoriums where the students
can study the theoretical part of their curriculum and after classes get to see
patients and obtain practice skills. This has nothing to do with the summer internships,
which they still must attend from June through the middle of August. After six
years of university level classes these student are required to take and pass
a government exam. Upon successful completion of the government exam, they are
ready to take up residency to continue on to being a medical doctor. So, lets
do the math. A young woman enter the university system at 17 and spend six years
to graduate That makes her 23 when she gets her medical degree to be called doctor.
That does not mean she has finished her education because she still has to take
up residency in a hospital and is still under supervision.
It
is not that much different in the American system. A young woman graduates high
school at 18 and enters a four year university. After that she has three more
years of medical school. If all is well, she graduates with her medical degree.
Let’s
see, enters college at 18 plus 4 years of university and 3 years of medical school.
This young women will be 25 when she becomes a resident at a hospital.
It
reality there is only one year’s difference between a young Russian girl
and a American girl.
Russian
doctors seem to have a heart from gold. Doctors in Russia work very hard and earn
very little money and often times work for months before they are paid by the
government. But their devotion to their profession is one of being commendable.
Their concerns for their patients far out ways their concern for money. Because
of this low pay, these women doctors who have placed their name on the Internet
are very surprised when a foreign man pays a great deal of attention to the fact
that they are doctors.
But
in the western world the opposite holds true and if you married a Russian woman
who happens to be a doctor, she will be surprised and shocked when she sees how
much respect and attention is paid to western medicine. She will even be more
astounded to learn the type of life style a western doctor has compared to those
of the former Soviet Union.
So,
what type of family situation can you expect when you marry a Russian doctor?
I want to discuss a few common situations that can occur. I personal know about
them, because I know a lot of the Russian doctors thru my own website for immigrants.
1.
Woman who have decided to pass the exams and practice medicine in USA.
She
has a very supportive husband who respects her wishes and encourages her to study
for the one to two years it may take before she can take her board exams He is
the type of man who fully supports the family, paying for all the expenses his
wife will incur to complete her studies. He is also willing to relocate if his
wife needs to set up hospital residency in another state knowing that he will
see his wife very little as she spends 12 to 16 hours a day in the hospital.
The
number of men willing to go to this length for his wife: a very small percentage.
2.
Women want to study and pass the exams but is prevented from doing so because
of family situations:
Unfortunately,
the family unit cannot survive without a two income household. Because she has
not had her education recognized by the authorities where she lives, the only
jobs available to her are low paying, entry type jobs. This does not allow her
the time or the means to get the continuing education she would need to apply
for a medical license.
The
percentage of women in this position is very large,
3.
The husband doesn’t want his wife to work at all.
He
doesn’t care that she is a doctor. He just want a women with "old family
values" who will stay at home to cook clean and be a "wife".The
chances of finding and keeping this kind of woman is very slim but he may just
be lucky enough to find such a woman who is willing to give up her life long profession
and trade it in for a apron and title of housewife.
The
percentage of women in this category; very small!
4.
Women who are content with the situation:
There
are many woman in a similar position as number 2 above but are still able to get
some education. These woman usually try to find work in the medical field although
the income is low. They have given up on being a doctor but still want to work
in the medical field and take the low paying jobs that are offered.
Percentage
of women in this category is also large.
5.
Alternatives to Medicine
Even
though the understand the prestige of being a doctor in the western world as compared
to Russia, they desire to pursue other avenues and leave their medical degree
behind.
