Finland | Residency Database

Section A. Residency System

1. Does this country accept international physicians for specialization in its hospitals?:

Yes

2. Specialties offered (name duration)::

Anesthesiology 5-6
Cardiology 5-6
Dermatology 5-6
pediatric psychiatry
Hematology 5-6
Internal Medicine 5-6
Neurology 5-6
Neurological Surgery 5-6
pediatric neurology 5-6
Obstetrics and Gynecology 5-6
Ophthalmology 5-6
Orthopaedic Surgery 5-6
Otolaryngology 5-6
Pathology 5-6
Pediatrics 5-6
Pediatric Surgery 5-6
Plastic Surgery 5-6
Psychiatry 5-6
Radiology 5-6
Rheumatology 5-6
Surgery-General 5-6
Thoracic Surgery 5-6
Urology 5-6
Vascular Surgery 5-6
endochrinology 5-6
foniatry 5-6
fysiatry 5-6
gastroenterology 5-6
gastroenterologic surgery 5-6
geriatry 5-6
infectious deceases 5-6
pulmonary deceases andergology 5-6
clinical pharmacology 5-6
clinical physiology and isotopic medicine 5-6
clinical microbiology
clinical neurophysiology
upper arm surgery
sports medicine
nefrology
adolescent psychiatry
forensic medicine
forensic psychiatry
genetic medicine
mouth and jaw surgery
oncology
public health
occupational health practice
general medicine
clinical chemistry

Finnish specialist training underwent reform in 1999. To conform to new legislation, the number of specialties in Finland, which had been exceptionally high, was reduced to 49, 16 of which have a 5-year training and the other 33 a 6-year training. Approximately 60% of Finnish doctors are specialists.
Special competences
The FMA has recently introduced a new system of special competences, supplementary to the official system of specialization. Special competences can relate to specific areas of specialties in which particular skills of demanding natures are required. Suggestions for the establishment of new areas of special competence usually stem from the specialist association in question.

3. Are there examinations during the residency? How are the residents’ evaluated?:

Yes, the final national examination
Evaluation of educational hospitals, health care centers and other units has been done locally and nationally. Anyhow there aren’t any common guidelines for this, and thus the deans of the five medical faculties have hoped for a national agreement on the way of doing the evaluations. The FMA’s educational committee has developed a model which could now be used as a tool for carrying out the evaluations. The faculties’ committees for specialty education have been consulted in developing this form, and the form has already been tested with specializing doctors and with those already with a degree. But the form hasn’t reached an official position yet.
In the form are evaluated the following subjects: Educational resources and planning, theoretical education, clinical practice and time management, scientific studying, evaluation and criteria for selecting specializing doctors. In the end the evaluator is asked for any suggestions for possible how-to-make-it-better. There should be a specific part for each specialty field, which should be planned by the representatives of the specialty field.

4. How many hours of work per week are there?:

From 37 to how ever much one would like to work

5. What is the ratio between this country’s doctors and its population?:

299 physicians per 100.000 people

6. Which languages are necessary for the medical residency?:

Licensing of doctors from within the EU and EEA does not involve the meeting of any language-proficiency requirements, but employers, e.g. municipalities,
may require certificates relating to linguistic skills.
Treating patients would be difficult without a knowledge of Finnish. Finland is a bilingual country by law, with appr. 5% of the population speaking Swedish as the first language. English is generally well comprehended in the country.

7. References:

www.laakariliitto.fi (FMA website, Finnish Medicall Association)

Section B. Finance

1. A. Is there a tuition fee for the residency? If so, how much (in euro or usd)?:

2. What is the annual salary (in euro or u.s.d)?:

Around EUR 32 000

3. How expensive are the costs of living (average annual expenditure in euro or u.s.d)?:

Average total consumption expenditure (of a household) per year EUR 25 760

4. References:

www.tilastokeskus.fi (Statistics Finland website)
http://www.laakariliitto.fi/e/statistics/salaries.html (the FMA statistics on average medical doctoral salaries in Finland)

Section C. Application Procedure

1. Accreditation procedure:

The National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs assesses and approves the education of health-care professionals and recognises degrees.

2. Other requirements:

Doctors from within the EU or EEA can obtain a licence to practise medicine in Finland on the basis of directives concerning mobility of doctors and mutual recognition of diplomas. The National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs assesses and approves the education of health-care professionals and recognises degrees.
Licensing of doctors from within the EU and EEA does not involve the meeting of any language-proficiency requirements (see section A-6)

Doctors from outside the EU or EEA, in order to receive a licence to practise medicine in Finland, have to receive practical training and pass a three-part examination that includes questions relating to administration, legislation, and clinical medicine, and a practical section testing the individual’s ability to cope with normal clinical tuations.
There is also a language test.

Licences are granted stagewise.The initial licence is valid only for hospital work. It can subsequently be extended to cover health-centre work, then work in other institutions and in private practice. Licences are always granted for specific periods of time. If a holder of an extended licence is granted Finnish citizenship, the National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs can authorize her or him to practise medicine independently as a licensed physician.

All doctors and dentists need sickness insurance numbers.These can be obtained
from the Social Insurance Institution after a licence has been granted.

Everyone coming to Finland from abroad to work must obtain a residence permit if her or his employment is to last longer than three months.The permit is granted by the police department in the place of residence.Citizens of EU member states do not need work permits.

3. Differences in application procedure depending on country of origin:

Please check fields C1 and C2 and the references pointed out

4. Ratio between applicants and physicians who finally obtain a residency position:

1:1

5. Does everyone who passes the medical license examinations gain a residency position in a hospital?:

He/She has to apply for a position like every Finnish medical doctor does. The exams are sat before the license is granted. The language issue is solved by each employing unit separately. Please check field C2, and the references pointed out.

6. Specialties in which it is most difficult to obtain a position:

Cardiology

7. Is there a waiting list for medical graduates who want to begin a residency?:

It depends on the hospital

8. Countries, except this one, in which the medical residency title is recognized:

Inside Europe, if he /she has accomplished an additional two year program after the medical doctor degree. The two year program is accomplished while working as a doctor.

9. Requirements for international physicians to be able to work in this country after completing their specialization there:

Please check field C2, with references pointed out

10. References:

www.teo.fi (The National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs website)
http://www.laakariliitto.fi/e/foreign/index.html (FMA information for foreign physicians)

Section E. Other References

Other references:

www.teo.fi (The National Authority for Medicolegal Affairs website), www.laakariliitto.fi (FMA website with links to Finnish medical faculties)

www.stm.fi (the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs), www.minedu.fi (the Ministry of Education), www.mol.fi (the Ministry of Labour), www.hus.fi (For the organisation of specialised medical care, Finland is divided into 20 hospital districts. Five of them are university hospital districts. The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS) is the largest of these)

Section F. Participant's Information

Name:

Valpuri Saarinen

Country:

Finland (NMO FiMSIC; www.fimsic.org)

Contact info:

valpuri.saarinen@uta.fi

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