Double Standards for Sarajevo Doctors

Written by A. Aljović

A group of professors from the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo was excluded from the teaching process of that faculty several months ago. The Faculty management justified this decision, among other things, by the fact that these professors terminated their employment at the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, which is the scientific and teaching base of the Faculty. The professors excluded from teaching are: Ismet Gavrankapetanović, Rusmir Mesihović, Faris Gavrankapetanović, associate professors and assistant professors Reuf Karabeg, Mirsad Kacila, Sanko Pandur, Adnan Hadžimuratović, Zelija Velija-Ašimi, Naser Nabil, and some others.

Months later, these doctors are trying to prove that their dismissals from the Faculty were unfounded and discriminatory. Other teachers who are not employees of KCUS, and whose contracts with the Faculty have not been terminated to this day, also work at the Faculty. Because of this, they draw attention to double standards. They point out that one set of rules applies to doctors who oppose the policy implemented by the director of KCUS, Dr. Sebija Izetbegović, while other standards apply to her like-minded individuals. This was also evident during the mass layoffs at KCUS and the appointment of new clinic heads.

Patria was shown a contract between Assistant Professor Dr. Zaim Jatić and the Faculty of Medicine. Jatić is a teacher at the Department of Family Medicine, although he is an employee of the Health Centers of Sarajevo Canton, not KCUS?! In addition, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Semra Čavaljuga, approved Dr. Jatić's engagement at the Faculty of Medicine in Foča on September 19. The decision states: „Consent for the engagement from paragraph 1 of this decision is granted to the appointee for participation in the teaching process for the courses „Family Medicine“ and „Clinical Practice 2“, study program Medicine, which is conducted at the Faculty of Medicine in Foča, University of East Sarajevo, in the academic year 2018/2019.“

Dr. Zaim Jatić is a candidate for the president of the Medical Chamber of Sarajevo Canton. He enjoys unofficial support from the director of KCUS, Dr. Izetbegović. If Jatić is elected to head the Chamber, there is a real possibility that Dr. Izetbegović, in addition to KCUS and the Faculty of Medicine, will again gain strong political influence over the Chamber, as was the case with the current leadership. This influence was previously written about by Transparency International in the „Analysis of the Case of a Captured State in the Health Sector of Sarajevo Canton.“

„Healthcare must be saved from such individuals,“ said the long-time president of the Management Board of the Medical Chamber, Dr. Dragan Stevanović, ahead of a recent session of the Chamber Assembly, which was interrupted and postponed until the end of November.

The Management Board of the University of Sarajevo also recently noted irregularities in the termination of contracts between the Faculty and a group of unsuitable professors. The Management Board, by a majority vote, assessed that the termination of employment for Professor Gavrankapetanović was unfounded and ordered his reinstatement at the Faculty of Medicine. Other professors have also requested a review of their dismissals.