The College of Medicine in Gorno-Altaisk has long become one of the most popular educational institutions in the city. Any yesterday’s schoolchild can get a sought-after profession, for this it’s enough to just make a small amount of effort to prepare for exams and submit documents to the school on time.
Where is Gorno-Altaysk located?
The capital of the Altai Republic with a population of 63 thousand people is a small town, which at one time was not lucky - the Trans-Siberian Railway did not pass through it. However, over the past 12 years there has been a steady population growth, as the settlement develops, more and more opportunities for young people appear in it. A medical college in Gorno-Altaysk appeared long ago, but managed to train more than one generation of experienced specialists, most of whom work in local hospitals.
The locality has repeatedly become the laureate of the prestigious Russian award “Clean City”, in 2012 the city even received the Global Brando Award, as one of the cleanest in Eurasia. Such achievements have made Gorno-Altaysk one of the most attractive cities in Russia in terms of tourism, and many locals do not want to leave here for larger cities.
When did the doctors begin to be trained here?
The first admission to the Oirot School of Nursing, which was the name of the medical college in Gorno-Altaysk, was originally held in 1937. Then nursing was taught only two years, in each issue there were 70-100 specialists. In 1948, the school was renamed as feldsher-midwife, and with it a boarding school was opened on social security, where students could live during their studies. After 6 years, the educational institution was decided to reorganize, after which it became known as the medical school.
In the 1990s, it was incredibly difficult for the school to survive, since funding was greatly reduced, and there were no additional sources. Old-time teachers recall that they managed to survive this time due to the incredible support of each other by teachers and students. In the 2000s, the educational institution was renamed several times, until in 2013 it received its current name.
Training areas
If we talk about the faculties of the medical college in Gorno-Altaisk, then here they have a slightly different name - departments. You can get an education here in the following specialties: “Pharmacy”, “General Medicine”, “Laboratory Diagnostics”, “Obstetrics”, “Nursing”. In parallel with them, in the educational institution there are general professional units, for example, a physical education cabinet. There is also a socio-psychological service that helps students cope with various personal and professional problems.
Since the number of faculties has increased significantly in recent years, the schedule of a medical college in Gorno-Altaisk is designed in such a way that some of them study in the first shift, and part in the second. It changes almost weekly, so students have to be more careful and constantly monitor all possible changes at the end of the week.
Do students like to study? Reviews
Since the medical college in Gorno-Altaysk is the only educational institution that prepares specialists of this profile, many applicants are happy to go there. According to them, study is simple enough, because the quality of training is at its best, teachers strive not only to put knowledge into their heads, but also help to develop logical relationships that allow us to understand what role this or that factor plays in the work of a doctor. An active student life, which is often touted in reviews, also gives students the opportunity to reveal their skills and talents, which has a very positive effect on the quality of education.
Also a huge positive effect is exerted by the presence of a psychological service, where you can always turn for help without fearing that anyone else will find out about the student's problems. Teachers in this unit of the university note that each person has to work according to an individual plan, but recently more and more students have been addressing there with one problem - the inability to integrate into society. Such students are offered feasible help, and most often the issue is resolved in a few months.
What are students dissatisfied with? Feedback
There are those students who are not enthusiastic about the work of the medical college in Gorno-Altaysk. In the reviews, they note the presence of practice at some faculties, when students receive marks not for knowledge, but for good relations with the teacher. Also, some inconvenience is caused by constant perturbations in the schedule, some students have to transfer their plans and even abandon their existing work. Unfortunately, it’s quite difficult to fix something here, as part of the teachers comes to work in Gorno-Altaysk from Biysk, located nearby, and the schedule has to be adjusted to part-time jobs.
An additional portion of the negative in student reviews is due to the fact that at college, due to the lack of full-time specialists with scientific degrees, it is difficult to carry out any scientific activity, for this you have to leave for larger cities. It is worth noting that the administration of the educational institution is always ready for an open dialogue with its students, however, the latter are not in a hurry to solve their concerns, preferring discussions on social networks.
What exams do I need to pass?
For admission to the medical college of Gorno-Altaysk, applicants will have to undergo a special psychological study, the results of which will be valid for admission to any specialty. An additional rule has been introduced for foreign citizens; they need to be interviewed in chemistry if they plan to study pharmacy; when choosing other departments, they will have to talk with examiners about the characteristics of biology. Retake of the entrance test data is not provided, therefore, it is necessary to prepare for them in advance. This is also often discussed in reviews.
There are no preparatory courses at the college, so applicants will have to prepare for exams on their own or with the help of private tutors. Several years ago similar programs were opened here, however, the demand was quite small, as a result of which they did not take root. The college administration does not exclude that they will be renewed in the future, but for this there must be a steady stream of people who want to attend classes.
Can I study for a fee?
Since there are not enough budget places for everyone, those who get an insufficient number of points as a result of the interview are offered the opportunity to study for a fee. For the 2018/19 academic year, the college management set a price of 34.4 thousand rubles for both semesters. Compared with regional salaries, this is a rather large amount, however, in this case, the desire to get an education is overpowering, and students, after being enrolled in college staff, often get jobs somewhere to pay for their studies on their own.
Distance learning and its prospects
If you plan to combine work and it would be convenient for you to take exams once a semester, then it is better to look for something in return for a medical college in Gorno-Altaisk, while you can’t study in absentia here yet. The administration of the educational institution explains this by the fact that the work of a physician implies a huge responsibility, and the number of correspondence hours on the offered specialties is so small that the qualification of a specialist who has received such an education will be doubtful.
There is another reason - the lack of funding for such training programs. Regional authorities are not interested in such an education, in this regard, one does not have to rely on the appearance of a “correspondence” in a medical college. The leadership of the educational institution does not exclude the creation of new specialties in the future for which it will be possible to use the correspondence form of training, however, no one has yet specified specific terms.
Where can I go to study further?
One of the main questions that arise for graduates of the Gorno-Altaysk Medical College is how to get to the rank of doctor. The qualifications obtained at the educational institution are not enough, so most of those who graduated from them go to other cities where there are corresponding universities - Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Perm and others. In nearby Biysk there is only a similar college, so there is no sense in entering there.
If there is no opportunity to leave, you can get a job in one of the local hospitals, where young staff are always welcome. According to statistics, about 60% of all college graduates after graduation find work in their specialty. About 20% continue training, about 10% go to the army, 5-6% go on maternity leave, all the rest do not work in their specialty. The leadership of the educational institution expresses concern over the fact that recently the number of those who decided to change their specialty after graduation is growing.
Where is the school located?
The number of applicants who want to receive primary medical skills is growing, some come to the capital of the republic, not knowing the addresses of the medical college in Gorno-Altaysk, and for a very long time they try to find an educational institution. It is located in the very center of the city - on Kommunistichesky Prospekt, 116, so it is not difficult to get to it.
More than 35 bus routes and 6 fixed-route taxis run through the bus stop closest to the college, the Republican Hospital. Therefore, there should be no difficulties with getting around Gorno-Altaisk. Buses Nos. 1,3,4,7,8,9,11,14,15,17,20,21 are intercity. Minibuses primarily connect the city with nearby villages and the airport.