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Success in licensing examinations of doctors from outside the European Economic Area: experiences from Finland 1994–2009

In the licensing process in Finland, of the doctors who have taken their medical degree outside the EU/EEA, a certificate of a language test in Finnish or Swedish is demanded. The Department of General Practice at the University of Tampere takes care of the licensing examinations, including two written medical knowledge tests and clinical skills assessment. The doctors have to prove that they can manage as primary care physicians. In this study, the aim was to investigate the performance of doctors in the licensing examinations. There were 746 doctors in all who had participated in the examinations during 1994-2009. Their success in the exams and numbers of attempts were studied in connection with demographic data. Over half of the participants had passed all three tests and about one-fifth of them had passed them on the first attempt. Gender was the only factor that was associated with good outcome, women being significantly better than men. The Finnish licensing system of non-EEA doctors is equal for all participants. Experienced general practitioners act as evaluators. The purpose is to make responsible assessments of the competency of the doctors, also taking into account the possibility that some doctors may continue to other EEA countries and start practice on the basis of the Finnish licensure.