Traineeship and professional examination

The purpose of traineeship is to acquaint trainees, through a prescribed programme, with all the professional tasks they are training for and get them ready for the professional examination and future independent work.

The traineeship is carried out according to a programme prescribed by the Minister of Health; its content corresponds to trainees' education levels and provides practical and theoretical knowledge. During the traineeship period trainees work full time.

The length of the traineeship programme varies as follows: six months for those who completed upper-secondary technical education; nine months for those who completed higher vocational college; and twelve months for those who completed professional college.

The traineeship is carried out by health institutions, private health professionals and other institutions providing health care services that meet the prescribed conditions. The employer must ensure that the traineeship is conducted properly

Before a traineeship programme begins the employer must appoint a mentor and give the trainee both traineeship and professional examination programmes. The traineeship programme is directly guided and supervised by the mentor, who is responsible for the implementation of the programme concerned.

Trainees' practical knowledge is regularly tested at the working premises. The traineeship programme is concluded by a practical knowledge test, which is a precondition for sitting the professional examination.

Trainees who completed upper-secondary technical education sit the professional examination at the health institutions authorised to this effect by the Minister. Trainees who completed higher vocational college, professional college or university sit the professional examination at the ministry responsible for health.

• expert contents related to the professional field, except for doctors of medicine;
• first aid – organisation and provision in ordinary and emergency situations, except for doctors of medicine;
• emergency medicine for doctors of medicine;
• social medicine, except for doctors of medicine and pharmacists with a Master's degree;
• social pharmacy for pharmacists with a Master's Degree and pharmaceutical technicians;
• basic regulations on health services, health protection and health insurance.

The Ministry keeps an updated list of legal sources and professional literature to support trainees in their preparation for professional examination. The list is available at the Ministry and on its web site.

Trainees submit an application for professional examination to their employer. The employer forwards applications submitted by workers who completed upper-secondary technical education to the authorised health institution, and applications submitted by workers who completed higher vocational college, professional college university to the Ministry of Health.

Voluntary trainees who completed upper-secondary technical education submit the application for professional examination to the authorised institution, while voluntary trainees who completed higher vocational college, professional college or university degree submit the application to the ministry.

The professional examination is oral, except for the subject Emergency Medicine that consists of written, practical and oral part. A commission assesses the overall achievement of a trainee on the basis of grades in individual subjects. Trainees who pass the professional examination receive a certificate of professional examination.

Trainees who fail to show sufficient knowledge in one or two exams may re-sit individual exams for re-assessment no sooner than one month after the first sitting of the exam. Trainees who do not show sufficient knowledge in more than half of the exams fail to pass the professional examination and must re-sit the whole examination. Trainees who fail to pass the professional examination may not practice health care.

• employers that registered trainees to sit the examination;
• trainees when unemployed or applying for the examination themselves or when they are volunteers.

The total costs of the professional examination for health and allied professionals amount to EUR 200.00. The costs of the professional examination for one subject amount to EUR 50.00. The costs of the professional examination for the subject Urgent Medicine for medical practitioners amount to EUR 150.00.