Vacant Quotas in Child Health and Diseases Branch Cause Concern
According to the 2026 TUS results, the failure to fill pediatric quotas was evaluated by experts as a serious risk in terms of infant mortality and public health.
According to the results of the 2026 Medical Specialty Exam, the fact that child health and diseases and pediatric surgery quotas remained vacant was met with concern in the medical community. TTB 2nd President Dr. Ayşe Gültekingil stated that physicians are moving away from these branches due to heavy working conditions, anxiety over violence, and malpractice concerns.
Vacant Quotas
The results of the 2026 Medical Specialty Exam 1st Term Specialty Branch Change revealed that physicians are moving away from the child health and diseases and pediatric surgery branches. Related quotas remained vacant in many hospitals across the country.
Heavy Working Conditions and Burnout
Turkish Medical Association Central Council 2nd President Dr. Ayşe Gültekingil drew attention to the intense shifts and heavy working conditions that start during residency and continue in specialization. High wear and tear, a performance-oriented system, and administrative pressures are exhausting physicians.
Anxieties Experienced by Physicians
The fact that pediatric patients can deteriorate more rapidly and the duty in high-risk units such as neonates increase malpractice, complaint, and compensation anxieties. This situation makes pediatrics one of the riskiest specialty branches.
Disruptions to Be Experienced in Health Services
The decrease in the number of specialists will lead to a lack of physicians to care for high-risk pediatric patients in the coming years. The capacities of neonatal, emergency, and intensive care units may decrease or close completely.
Risk of Infant and Child Deaths
Experts warn that the vacancy of the cadres will cause a significant increase in infant and child deaths and chronic health problems. The follow-up of preventive health practices will also become difficult.
Effects on Public Health
The difficulty in monitoring preventive health practices such as vaccination, iron, and vitamin D supplementation will negatively affect the health of the entire society, especially children.
TTB's Proposed Solutions
The Turkish Medical Association argues that the health system should be service-oriented, not profit-oriented. It is demanded that physicians be paid a single-line salary reflecting on retirement and that legal measures be taken.
Improvement of Working Conditions
It is emphasized that structural changes should be made to ensure the use of post-shift leaves in the child health branch, to prevent mobbing, and to effectively combat violence against physicians.