The question has often arisen as to what should be the minimum income or slab in salaries for professionals, particularly doctors, to lead a decent standard of living?
In Iran, a medical doctor residing outside Tehran should earn at least $500 (17million rials) to cover expenses, say for a family of four. But in Tehran, “a doctor who per force has to pay more as rent on clinic and taxes, should earn no less than $1500 (50 million rials)” said Dr. Kazem Abbassioun, member of the board of directors of the Iranian Association of Surgeons (IAS), reports Alef.
Addressing a news conference on the 39th annual congress of the IAS, he said unnecessary prescriptions and the number of referrals for CT scan and MRI only serve to add to “middlemen’s fees.” The current confusion lies in channeling funds for importing unnecessary medical equipment with the approval of the health ministry; in other words various people have entered this business using sick people as a source of claiming refund on costly medical equipment,” he said, expressing dissatisfaction over the several MRI prescriptions a year recommended for patients.
Nurses Pay
Additionally, Abbassioun said nurses must receive salaries commensurate with their tasks and hours of work. “A 7-hour nursing shift is not a desk job; it requires sensitivity and responsibility and if we do not acknowledge the importance of fair salary for nurses, we will lose our voluntary workforce.”
The 39th annual congress of IAS is slated for May 26-30 at Razi conference hall on Hemmat Highway in Tehran.
The congress is a well-established scientific event hosting more than 2,000 specialized surgeons, in collaboration with nearly 20 organizations in specialized fields, nursing and anesthesiology.
“During the 74 professional roundtables, 545 speeches, and 32 articles will be presented and the latest scientific and medical findings in surgery will be introduced in the presence of 846 faculty members” said IAS scientific director Dr. Siavash Sehhatdabir.
