Over 100 doctors emerge from tiny 100-household Sivas village

SIVAS

For nearly half a century, the small village of Kolluca in the central province of Sivas has defied its modest size of just 100 households by producing over 100 doctors, creating a remarkable legacy of education that now serves health institutions nationwide.

The phenomenon began in 1978 with the village’s first doctor, Cahit Gümüşer, now 72.

After completing his studies, he returned to work as a pediatric specialist at Sivas Cumhuriyet University, becoming a role model for generations of young people in the village.

Over the years, dozens of residents followed his path into medicine.

Today, nearly every household in Kolluca has at least one doctor, while many younger villagers are still studying at medical schools.

“Doctoring is one of the professions that receives the most gratitude if you do it well and serve people,” said Gümüşer, still practicing at a private hospital in Sivas. “Because I love my profession, I encouraged those around me to pursue it as well.”

Gümüşer says that within his extended family alone there are 15 doctors.

Including relatives by marriage, he estimates that the number connected to the village approaches 150.

Doctors from Kolluca now work in many parts of Türkiye and hold prominent positions in the health system.

Among them are Associate Professor Mürşit Hasbek, deputy chief physician at Sivas Cumhuriyet University Hospital.

Hasbek, who has been practicing medicine for more than three decades, said the encouragement of teachers and parents played a key role in guiding students toward medical careers.

“In many parts of Anatolia, successful students are encouraged to apply to medical school, and my story is similar,” he said.

Medicine has also become a family tradition for many villagers.

Hasbek noted that his wife, Professor Zekiye Hasbek, is also a doctor and that their daughter works as a family medicine specialist in the Thracian city of Edirne.

“We are now seeing second- and third-generation doctors,” he said. “There is no jealousy in the village — only admiration and the desire to follow good examples.”