…if (medical graduates) become influencers, they should be able to educate people more.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Health Ministry has said that the rising trend of medical graduates becoming content creators and influencers instead of practicing medicine is a matter of choice.

"That is a choice, we cannot force people (to choose a certain job), the choice of job is a human right," Head of the ministry's Communication and Public Services Bureau Siti Nadia Tarmizi told ANTARA here on Wednesday (March 1, 2023).

Doctors who become influencers can also have a big impact, for instance, in terms of educating the society, Tarmizi added.

According to her, if medical graduates become influencers, they can recommend treatments and respond to or speak about health examination results—meaning they are influencers with more quality.

"They have better resources, such as knowledge and competence regarding medicine. So if (medical graduates) become influencers, they should be able to educate people more," Tarmizi explained.

However, Indonesia is still facing a crunch when it comes to the number of medical personnel, especially doctors, and this is still an issue in the country's health sector, she highlighted.

The current ratio between doctors and the total population in Indonesia is 0.06:1,000, according to the bureau.

"We cannot force it, the option of a medical graduate who has finished their education and then chooses another profession, but we have to admit that the number of doctors is lacking," she said.

Earlier, Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said that Indonesia still needs 160 thousand additional doctors, noting that it will take 14 years to fill the gap in health human resources.

Sadikin said the shortage of doctors refers to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) standard that the ratio of doctors to the population should be 1:1,000.

With the Indonesian population at 270 million, 270 thousand doctors are needed, while the number of working doctors is currently around 110 thousand.

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Translator: Pamela S, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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