. This is just a heads-up for anyone considering *private* Turkish Medical Schools. Beware.
I have a background in Physiology with a PhD from a good graduate program in NY City and lots of publications spanning 20 years. I applied for a position teaching Physiology at a school called Istanbul Kemerburgaz University last Spring. They offered me the job and I took it. With the strengthening dollar and the weak lira it was not a huge amount (maybe $35000/year) but at least I was getting feedback and a steady job and I decided to go to Istanbul.
. After two months I had given the school many many documents to satisfy YOK (the higher education council there) to get my contract. I had given my a notarized copy of my diploma, every paper I ever published, Driver's license, criminal history, Social Security card, etc. It was shocking how many documents YOK was requiring but I was in a foreign country and wanted to comply. The faculty secretary (a weaselly guy in a fancy suit) and the humorless woman in Human Resources("YOK this, YOK that") kept telling me they were going to give me a contract ("tomorrow, tomorrow") but finally I had had enough--I told them no more teaching unless they held up their side of the bargain and paid me. Incidentally, the Medical Students there (whom I liked and respected) had had enough of the confusion and crazy last-minute curriculum changes at the same time and finally the Dean and Vice Dean held a meeting for all of us and promised more organization... and they paid me (strangely through another professor's bank account.)
. Two more months went by. I was teaching to the best of my ability and they were promising me a contract (still) and I believed I was going to be there a while. At the four month point it was "deja vu all over again." I still had no contract, no university ID card, no lunch card, no second payment of salary. I was offended and ticked off. The day before I took a few days off back to the States on vacation I told them I was resigning if I did not have a contract by 5 PM. I lost my temper (who wouldn't after 4 months?) and shouted at the scheming Prof who kept promising me a contract ("tomorrow, tomorrow") and then went down to Human Resources and argued about my contract; I didn't want to hear about YOK anymore --a lawyer in Istanbul advised me they were out of line by hiding behind that excuse for 4 months (7 months after the initial job offer) and I knew they were playing me for a sucker. They fired me with an urgent phone call when I came back to the States for "attitude" or some BS but the fact that they would not fire me in writing exposes the fact that they did not want any written evidence I was employed there....
. I had heard of employment scams in Turkey before..basically the scam is they hire you and then play games with your contract by delaying it --and then you can't fight back be cause you were working there "illegally" even though you were the person trying to sign the contract and get "legal." It was just shocking to see a Medical School engaged in this scam, as opposed to a rinky -dink English language school in a small city. Also the Dean at the school seemed to be some kind of Vampire--he rarely even came into his (Bagcilar) office to work or help alleviate the curriculum problems and seemed to enjoy seeing people squirm in all the confusion. I know he was a surgeon but as a Dean of Basic Science he did not have the slightest idea how to run the show (or how to pay his employees in a timely manner). His slave was named Ayca Dogan Mollaoglu and she lied to me constantly about my contract...
I did finally get my second payment but I had to go to the US Embassy and it was a big hassle.
Be careful of private Medical Schools in Turkey--or you can end up in a real mess like I did.
That was definitely the strangest 4 months of my life. I take no joy in writing this but if a Medical School that advertises on its website being "ethical" and "American Styled" is so fundamentally flawed that faculty have to scratch and claw for every paycheck something clearly needs to be done to correct this dilemma or more people will be taken advantage of....
I have a background in Physiology with a PhD from a good graduate program in NY City and lots of publications spanning 20 years. I applied for a position teaching Physiology at a school called Istanbul Kemerburgaz University last Spring. They offered me the job and I took it. With the strengthening dollar and the weak lira it was not a huge amount (maybe $35000/year) but at least I was getting feedback and a steady job and I decided to go to Istanbul.
. After two months I had given the school many many documents to satisfy YOK (the higher education council there) to get my contract. I had given my a notarized copy of my diploma, every paper I ever published, Driver's license, criminal history, Social Security card, etc. It was shocking how many documents YOK was requiring but I was in a foreign country and wanted to comply. The faculty secretary (a weaselly guy in a fancy suit) and the humorless woman in Human Resources("YOK this, YOK that") kept telling me they were going to give me a contract ("tomorrow, tomorrow") but finally I had had enough--I told them no more teaching unless they held up their side of the bargain and paid me. Incidentally, the Medical Students there (whom I liked and respected) had had enough of the confusion and crazy last-minute curriculum changes at the same time and finally the Dean and Vice Dean held a meeting for all of us and promised more organization... and they paid me (strangely through another professor's bank account.)
. Two more months went by. I was teaching to the best of my ability and they were promising me a contract (still) and I believed I was going to be there a while. At the four month point it was "deja vu all over again." I still had no contract, no university ID card, no lunch card, no second payment of salary. I was offended and ticked off. The day before I took a few days off back to the States on vacation I told them I was resigning if I did not have a contract by 5 PM. I lost my temper (who wouldn't after 4 months?) and shouted at the scheming Prof who kept promising me a contract ("tomorrow, tomorrow") and then went down to Human Resources and argued about my contract; I didn't want to hear about YOK anymore --a lawyer in Istanbul advised me they were out of line by hiding behind that excuse for 4 months (7 months after the initial job offer) and I knew they were playing me for a sucker. They fired me with an urgent phone call when I came back to the States for "attitude" or some BS but the fact that they would not fire me in writing exposes the fact that they did not want any written evidence I was employed there....
. I had heard of employment scams in Turkey before..basically the scam is they hire you and then play games with your contract by delaying it --and then you can't fight back be cause you were working there "illegally" even though you were the person trying to sign the contract and get "legal." It was just shocking to see a Medical School engaged in this scam, as opposed to a rinky -dink English language school in a small city. Also the Dean at the school seemed to be some kind of Vampire--he rarely even came into his (Bagcilar) office to work or help alleviate the curriculum problems and seemed to enjoy seeing people squirm in all the confusion. I know he was a surgeon but as a Dean of Basic Science he did not have the slightest idea how to run the show (or how to pay his employees in a timely manner). His slave was named Ayca Dogan Mollaoglu and she lied to me constantly about my contract...
I did finally get my second payment but I had to go to the US Embassy and it was a big hassle.
Be careful of private Medical Schools in Turkey--or you can end up in a real mess like I did.
That was definitely the strangest 4 months of my life. I take no joy in writing this but if a Medical School that advertises on its website being "ethical" and "American Styled" is so fundamentally flawed that faculty have to scratch and claw for every paycheck something clearly needs to be done to correct this dilemma or more people will be taken advantage of....
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