On July 2, 2008, the roundtable “Professional Licensing of Doctors: Implementation Challenges” was held with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Health Oleksandr Linchevsky, the BRDO Head Oleksiy Honcharuk and with the support of the American Chamber of Commerce.
The main goal of the roundtable was to discuss the elements of the system of professional licensing of doctors: the duration and contents of a transition period, the procedure to form a Licensing Board and other important aspects related to the Concept implementation.
Oleksandr Linchevsky noted that the introduction of professional licensing was not only a new system to enter the profession of medicine, but first of all, it was an important step towards radical changes in the relationship between doctors and the society. The Concept provides for a new approach to the training of new doctors who are just going into medical education and the transition period for those doctors who are already working.
The discussion of the draft Concept involved members of expert groups of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in various areas.
“The Concept creates new rules of the ‘long’ game. Today, together with the professional community, it is necessary to develop practical mechanisms for achieving the quality of the training and licensing of specialists we seek,” Oleksiy Honcharuk emphasized.
While working in teams, doctors worked out and presented their vision of the principles of the Licensing Board’s formation and work, as well as the stages of the transition period for practicing physicians.
The appointment of members and functions of the Licensing Board, which should become the body that will control the process of issuing, confirming and canceling licenses for medical practice, was actively discussed.
All roundtable participants agreed that the introduction of professional licensing was a highly necessary change that would improve the quality of medical care and the level of trust in the medical profession.
The draft Concept of professional licensing of doctors is still discussed with all interested parties. Based on this discussion, brief summaries will be prepared.