The Rector of Medical University - Varna Prof. Dr. Valentin Ignatov and the Mayor of Veliko Tarnovo Mr. Daniel Panov held a working meeting to discuss health issues. The Mayor of the old Bulgarian capital gave an excellent assessment to the Affiliate of MU-Varna and underlined that its establishment in 2015 has immediately proven its feasibility, and that it is very useful for the local health care system with the training of nurses and midwives, who are among the most coveted employees. The Mayor Daniel Panov made a request for the establishment of a training programme of Medicine at the Veliko Tarnovo Affiliate of MU-Varna.
The Director of the Veliko Tarnovo Affiliate of MU "Dr. Paraskev Stoyanov" - Varna Assoc. Prof. Dr. Diana Dimitrova, the Deputy Director of MDHAT "Dr. Stefan Cherkezov" Dr. Gareva and the chief nurse, the District Governor Prof. Lyubomira Popova also took part in the discussion. The managers of the municipal health facilities - Complex Oncology Centre, Pulmonary Hospital "Dr. Treiman", Medical Centre for Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine - I, Centre for Mental Health also expressed their opinion in favour of the idea medical students to be trained in Veliko Tarnovo. The heads of the Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology at MDHAT "Dr. Stefan Cherkezov" Dr. Valentin Tochkov and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetozar Stoykov were also invited to attend the working meeting.
Other desirable training programmes in Veliko Tarnovo are "Rehabilitation" and "Kinesitherapy". The meeting also addressed issues related to the accreditation of municipal health institutions as student specialization facilities. One of the possible options is such a status to be conferred to Pulmonary Hospital "Dr. Treiman".
The Rector Prof. Dr. Valentin Ignatov announced that nurses with a Bachelor educational and qualification degree can upgrade their qualification to a Master's degree at the Affiliate of MU - Varna in Veliko Tarnovo, and the application includes an Essay writing in the field of health care. The deadline for submitting the documents is 30th July, and the exam is on 3th August.
The first class in the old capital city graduated in 2019 - 33 nurses and midwives. Currently, the Affiliate has 109 students, amongst them 48.6% from the district. The graduation of 15 nurses and 14 midwives is forthcoming. 52% of the graduates are from the district, and they intend to start working at the structures of the local and regional healthcare system.
As of June 2020, a total of 704 nurses are working in the district of Veliko Tarnovo, and 207 (29.4%) of them are in retirement age, and 139 (19.7%) are in pre-retirement age. There are 55 working midwives, and 25.5% of them are more than 62 years old. There are more than 100 vacancies for nurses and midwives. There is a shortage of rehabilitators, with 57.8% of them in pre-retirement and retirement age.
