"Inhumane Treatment And Corruption": A Graduate Reveals The Shocking Truth About The Vitebsk Medical College
- 31.07.2026, 16:59
Why Is There a Shortage of Healthcare Workers in Belarus?
A graduate of the Vitebsk State Medical College vikkswxx shared on Threads her experience with the school administration’s attitude toward students.
“I graduated with a degree in Nursing,” she writes. “You won’t find such inhumane treatment of students anywhere else but at this college.
Insults from the college administration—particularly from the associate director for academic affairs, who made personal attacks—calling us ‘silly little girls.’ The head of the nursing and medical departments threatened to call in a psychiatric team on us. Reducing us to tears—that’s all considered normal.
The most interesting part began at the end of the semester, before exams, when we had to pay for a photo. 25 rubles per person—for a standard passport-style photo—but at a specific photo studio run by the husband of Elena Alexandrovna Orlova (the director of the medical college). When I asked if we could have the photo taken at a different studio, I was told “no.” They didn’t explain why. But it’s obvious why.
We repeatedly received threats from the administration that they would lower our performance evaluations and “fail” us on the exams if we didn’t attend the graduation ceremony and pay for the photo. It all reached such an absurd point that during the state exams, the department head came to announce the list of people who weren’t attending the graduation ceremony and hadn’t paid for the photo, ordering the instructors to “take their pictures.”
Anyone who was sick, cross-eyed, or lame was required to attend their hospital internship. If the internship log wasn’t written exactly as the internship supervisor wanted, she would tear it up and scream at the top of her lungs.
In February 2026, before the preliminary placement, all students filled out forms indicating where they would like to go for their practical training (spoiler: this wasn’t taken into account). They came out of the preliminary placement in tears; most were sent to work in villages.
In Vitebsk, all healthcare facilities were understaffed; representatives offered to hire them to work in their hospitals and clinics, but the college director flatly refused to even listen.
They wouldn’t let students sign requests to go home for the weekend, and if they did sign them, it was only after a lot of yelling. You’re not allowed to get sick there, nor can you have any family emergencies. They intimidate students with threats of expulsion and scholarship revocation. Yelling over the phone from the administration is considered normal.
The college provided knowledge, but at what cost. This attitude completely discourages students from wanting to study and improve themselves. The college also has its own placement policy; they don’t accept requests from the hospital.
Everything is as disorganized as possible; no one warns you about anything or keeps you in the loop. The only positive thing worth mentioning is the faculty, who truly impart knowledge and are passionate about their work. Thank you!
Parents whose children are planning to study at this college, think it over 300 times before sending your child to this educational institution—it’s not worth the humiliation and the stress. You won’t have a peaceful time studying there!”
Earlier, in an interview with the website Charter97.org, Dr. Alexey Nosov diagnosed the state of the healthcare system in Belarus.