Egypt: Medicine for Sale - Al Jazeera World

Medical students in an Egyptian university are packed into a small lecture room. A grainy presentation is projected on to the wall. The lesson, taught in English, is entirely theoretical - much like most of the medical-related courses - and demonstration equipment is also faulty.
Dr Rami Said is a product of Egypt's tertiary education system.
"That's what happens in medical school. We finish our studies and are supposed to be doctors. That's our dream," he says. "Six years of study plus a year of residency and we still don't know anything."
Said's view is shared by many others. Dr Nadia al-Ansari works in the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University in Cairo.
She says that "today, professors don't have the time to teach the way they used to. University teachers are not dedicated or keen to teach any more. Medical students take private lessons, as in the humanities, engineering or business faculties. No one is dedicated the way they used to be."
A lack of government funding is not only undermining health provision and affecting the quality of doctor training, it's also spawned a black market in the sales of human organs - and a bizarre trade in "patients for hire".
In the Qasr al-Aini Hospital, a familiar face walks the corridors, seen most frequently during exam season. Ahmad al-Saed Ahmad is a professional patient, more commonly known as a "consultation subject".
In return for treating his chronic chest complaint, Ahmad - who is on the books of an agent organising similar cases for this kind of work - is paid by students at the hospital, to allow them to examine him in preparation for their final medical exams.
He uses his cut of the money to pay his own medical bills. The rest is pocketed by the agent and universities taking part in the back-door process.
But Ahmad's role - and that of other consultation subjects like himself - doesn't end there.
"I started memorising the medical terms until I knew the cases by heart," he says, "We learned them so we could teach them [the medical students].
"Sometimes the student doesn't know anything at all, so we explain everything, like how to measure blood pressure, take a pulse. The things they should have learned in medical school, we teach them."
Some trainee doctors choose to leave Egypt, to take advantage of greater opportunities and better education abroad, in Germany, for example, but most have to make do with the situation at home.
"The number of medication companies has grown recently. They distribute medicines but need doctors to prescribe them to be sold, so doctors get money from these companies to prescribe a medication for their patients," says GP Reda Harbi.
Dr Nihal Majdi works in general medicine and is calling on the Egyptian government for more rights and better support, claiming that doctors' conditions verge on the inhumane. She says this is the heart of the problem and is threatening patient care.
"They [doctors] are asked to work extra shifts without getting paid or working in a humane place and without the proper resources. Without a lot of things. A big part of our job is humanitarian. How can you expect a doctor who's been dehumanised to be humane with patients?" asks Majdi.
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[@jaybeedesigner]

its called patient simulation for medical student's exams . its standard everywhere.

[@LifeinAmerica2022]

Thank you, Al Jazeera for this beautiful documentary. Beautiful in a sense that people like us get a glimpse of the life of the Egyptians and how hard they have to live through this hard times. I don't have to look further. My sister and her family has been financially in hardship after 2011, much more in 2013.

[@iftyrehman157]

It’s very simple management of your institutions the government should find a way to finance and manage the hospitals

[@yarivs.4125]

O.M.G. LEAVE THE STUDENT...LOOK AT THEIR HOSPITALS AND THE PPLL WHO SUFFERED. OMG.. THE ARAB STATES ARE MADE AND CRAZY!!!!!!!

[@VictoriaisaDiamond]

Yuval Sher are "made"?

[@archsword2446]

now i know why egyptian medical students in the philippines are increasing in numbers. I cnt blame them coz not all the families of medical students are better well off to send their children to western medical schools. Different case with Indian medical students in the Philippines as the slot in Indian college of medicine are limited thats why they go to the Philippines to study. Filipino medical students have different problems also as the cost of medical studies is expensive based on their family income. Korean medical students in the Philippines have difficulties as the instruction is in english some even buy korean and english versions of medical books they are using.

[@CyberSetan]

+Joel Obando How much does it cost to study Medicine for 5 years in the Philippines?

[@archsword2446]

I cannot really say but they say its affordable and english teaching, might as well contact medical schools in the Philippines as they have MD american patterned 4 years and MBBS. Try contacting Manila Central University, Cebu Doctors University, Emilio Aguinaldo College, University of Northern Philippines, University of Perpetual Help, Fatima University and compare the price per semester or contact IMES educational consultancy from india as they experts in cross country medical education and they can advise you what to do and current prices.

[@archsword2446]

Philippine medical schools augments indian need for doctors and middle income americans, korean, thailander, taiwanese come to the philippines for medical studies and iranians for dental studies.

[@LifeinAmerica2022]

Oh, this is a new learning. I did not know that Egyptians student go to the Philippines for their medical schools. I think that Philippines curriculum is the best. My niece is groomed to be a doctor. She is now in her third year nursing, and she told me that aside from the classroom over demanding subjects, they have more demanding hands on experience. They started going to hospitals even when she was in first year college. She does not have Saturdays and Sundays. She is always busy specially that she is volunteered at the Red Cross. I thought that the internship while students is a very good practice. She has experienced what it means to be in the hospital and what it means to sleep less at night. I wish my nephews or niece would study medicine. I'd be willing to spend for them.

[@retamaliakurt4496]

Thanks Al Jazeera, thanks for your good programs. They get humanize back and back again.

[@1337nader]

Does Aljazeera ever make a good positive report about Egypt?!

[@VictoriaisaDiamond]

Nader why would they it is a corrupt cess pool

[@1337nader]

VictoriaisaDiamond what ever it as a news channel they should be biased.

[@VictoriaisaDiamond]

Nader welcome to real life! And just for your information, this is the "documentary" part of Al Jazeera not the NEWS part...how old are you? 12?

[@lupeavalos9342]

I don’t think so it seems unsafe sexual harassed and damaged

[@elijahsmith6508]

Those two older Physicians, the man and woman, were probably the best of the whole bunch. Not to shortchange the young doctors. I just mean it's contrary to what the culture says.

[@lupeavalos9342]

That is sad ? Egypt need to change .

[@maplesap]

No need to worship the West. Egypt's medical system isn't world-class I must admit, but in the end you get what you pay for. The only reason public hospitals offer terrible services is because they're free; what do you expect? It's the same all around the world. Also, you have to pay for health insurance! Either directly or indirectly through taxes. And they cover very minimal stuff. Stop painting the West as some sort of utopia. Aljazeera, all you needed to do was document Egypt's medical system, so why compare it with western society?

[@alisaleh9260]

برده سيظل الطب المصري له هيبته ووقاره مهما كانت الظروف يا رعاة الغنم

[@user-vi7jt3pz5p]

Ali Saleh خليهم يطلعو دكتور واحد زينا ويشتغل فى مستشفياتهم بدل المصريين الى مشغلين مستشفايتهم

[@hippocratesm.d.1543]

@@user-vi7jt3pz5p بيطلعوا يا خايب وبيبتعثوهم انجلترا وامريكا والله انتم نايمين فى ماية البطيخ ادخلوا طب فى مصر وانتوا تفهموا ... عيش حياة الطالب والنايب والمرمطة والذل بلاش عته وهبل

[@hangingwiththegrlz4891]

That man is lying. He is not poor. He owns his own home and probably has 10 kids in that house and a wife. The house was furnished, and he is dressed well. He is just trying to get over. It is obvious he is making money from somewhere or else he would be homeless or live with someone.

[@VictoriaisaDiamond]

Also...the old female "doctor" with the head veil on needs to learn about general hygiene in a medical setting...it is completely inacceptable and cross contaminating to wear these stupid head veils, face scarfs...yuck!

[@onoudhesham6946]

just say you're Islamophobic and go.

[@crosswalls2754]

@@onoudhesham6946he’s more like Hijabophobic lol.

[@cerealcult1604]

that's way too long of an explanation to say that ure islamophobic