Syrian doctors 4.5 years before they can doctor in the Netherlands

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Anyone who wants to work as a refugee and doctor in the Netherlands has a long way to go that has been made unnecessarily difficult. A clinical internship prior to the necessary tests can help the success of doctors who come from abroad and who try to practice their profession in the Netherlands.

Now the clinical internship only takes place later in the process. If refugee doctors gain practical experience sooner, this has many advantages. This makes it easier for them to master the Dutch medical language and they learn ‘Dutch’ manners in healthcare, such as involving the patient in the treatment. An early practical internship is also helpful in gaining a network.

It is one of the recommendations given by Syrian doctors in the study by Julia Postmes (Erasmus University). She conducted in-depth interviews with seventeen Syrian doctors who fled here between 2013 and 2018 and have now gone through the procedure. Seven of them were medical specialists, seven were resident doctors and three others came as medical doctors. The majority (fifteen) are male.

Waiting time

The doctors surveyed understand that foreign-certified doctors from outside Europe have to go through a special procedure in the Netherlands before they can start working as a doctor. They do criticize the length and cumbersomeness of the process. On average, it took them 4.5 years to get started. That waiting time included the asylum procedure, integration courses, and – most importantly – the assessment procedure.

The doctors in the Netherlands found out that previous work experience does not count in the procedure. This particularly stings the medical specialists in question; even if they get their certificate, they are ‘only’ medical doctors. The respondents point to neighboring Germany, where refugee doctors can work in a hospital more easily and quickly – provided they have passed an exam in German language and basic knowledge of the German health care system. In this way, Syrian refugee doctors have up to two years to gain field experience before taking exams on medical knowledge and clinical skills.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115836

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