Polish gov't seeks to draw Ukrainian doctors

Sources in both Ukraine and the Polish Health Ministry have confirmed that talks are underway on the matter, the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily reported.

“We’re considering applying German solutions, which involve granting foreign doctors a licence to practise their profession [in] a designated workplace,” Milena Kruszewska, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, told the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily.

The medical practitioners would be able to obtain a full licence to work anywhere in Poland once already employed in the country.

The mechanism would concern only doctors from outside of the European Union. In a recent parliamentary debate on Polish resident doctors who are on strike, Health Minister Konstanty Radziwiłł said the system was tailor-made for medical professionals from beyond the country’s eastern border.

At present, medical practitioners who are non-EU nationals must have their diplomas validated in Poland, make up for differences in education and pass one exam on medical Polish and another earning them the right to work in this country.

According to the latest data of the Polish Chamber of Physicians and Dentists, there are 1,137 foreign doctors from 98 countries employed in Poland. A large number of them come from Ukraine (306), Belarus (139) and Germany (81). (aba/pk)

Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna