WKDS Program is Expected to Fulfill Health Services Needs in DTPK

Jakarta, InfoPublik – On January 12, 2017, President Joko Widodo officially established a Specialist Doctors Mandatory Work (WKDS) program through Presidential Regulation No. 4/2017. The program was expected to improve access and to meet public needs to health services, specially for those who live in the disadvantages, border and island areas (DTPK) in Indonesia.

The WKDS participants were specialist doctors  graduating from  public Indonesian universities or from overseas universities. The program’s first phase was prioritized for graduates in obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, surgery, internal medicine, and anesthetic and insentive therapy.

 "I believe WKDS is a good program because it engaged professional associations such as local health offices and branches to commit in fulfilling and evenly distributing specialist doctors, and hospital, as an assigment place, can also be well prepared," Health Minister Nila F Moeloek said in the inauguration of the Specialist Doctor Placement Committee (KPDS) for the 2016-2019 period in Jakarta, Monday (2/6).

Before implementing the WKDS program, the Health Ministry together with local governments,   central professional organizations, the college councils and branch professional organizations visited those needed areas as preparation. The visitation, based on the regions’ proposal for specialist doctors, was conducted to asses the suitability and readiness of infrastructure, human resources, equipment, and other factors including security.

The WKDS participants consist of independent (non-scholarship) participants and scholarship or tuition fee awardees. Those independent participants would be placed for one year in the DTPK areas, meanwhile the placement of scholarship awardees is based on relevant regulation. (Translator: Rina Alexandra)