Ministry of Health Adopted Amendments to the Rules of Admission to Internships

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine has adopted an order amending the rules of admission to internship programs. The updated version of the order was preceded by a long public discussion. In total, we received suggestions and comments from more than 160 citizens and organizations. Some of them are partially or completely taken into account.

So what’s important to know about this year’s internship admission?

After May 15, 2024, the Ministry of Health will inform educational institutions training students in specialty 22 “Health care” about vacant positions of doctors (pharmacists/pharmacists)-interns (hereinafter – interns) in different regions and in different specialties. Institutions of higher education must post this information on their official websites within five days of receiving it.

The ranking distribution for the internship will be carried out by the commission of the higher education institution. Both contractual and budgetary students will be able to study in an internship at the expense of the state budget. At the same time, foreigners, stateless persons and Ukrainians who graduated from higher education institutions abroad do NOT participate in this distribution.

Distribution takes place on the basis of the competitive score – the person who studied better will have the largest number of places to choose from.

This year, the formula for calculating the competitive score (CS) has been changed. In addition, the results of Krok-1 will be taken into account, in addition, the share of the result of Krok-2 has been increased and the share of the average score has been reduced. For graduates who took the license integrated exam or the unified state qualification exam (USQE), which does not include the objective structured practical (clinical) exam (OSP(C)E), the CS is calculated according to the formula:

CS = 0.25 × AS + 0.25 × Krok-1 + 0.5 × Krok-2,

For graduates who took the USQE, including OSP(C)E as a component, the CS is calculated according to the formula:

CS = 0.2 × AS + 0.2 × Krok-1 + 0.4 × Krok-2 + 0.2 × OSP(C)E,

where CS is a competitive score, AS is an average score.

If the applicants have the same competitive score, those who have the best result for the Krok-2 test will be higher in the rating.

The institution of higher education places on its official website the ranking list of graduates no later than three days before the meeting of the commission. The meeting of the commission takes place with the video broadcasting and video recording. The video recording of the meeting is kept for a year.

Students should receive allocation offers no later than two weeks before the end of their higher education.

Graduates of the specialty 228 “Paediatrics” will be able to undergo an internship in the specialty “Internal diseases”, and graduates of the specialty 222 “Medicine” – in the specialty “Paediatrics” and “Paediatric surgery”.

Graduates who studied at the expense of the state budget will be able to choose a specialty and health care institution for an internship from among the available vacancies. The higher the rating score of the graduate, the wider opportunities they will have regarding the choice of specialties and places of internship. Those of them who refuse to participate in the distribution have the right to undergo a repeated rating distribution the following year. Contract students will also be able to participate in the allocation to government places or choose others and study under a contract.

At the same time, the order stipulates that graduates of the budgetary form of education can refuse the place of internship training on the state allocation and choose it independently in cases, if:

• graduates, their spouses, one of their parents or people who replace them, have a disability of the I or II group or are people with a disability as a result of the war;
• they are the mother/father of a child under the age of three or a child under the age of six who, according to a medical opinion, needs care; pregnant women; a single mother or father who has a child under the age of fourteen or a child with a disability;
• the graduate belongs to the fourth category of higher education applicants and was transferred to state-ordered places;
• the husband (wife) of the graduate(s) performs military service (except for fixed-term), including under contract, in state military formations or internal affairs bodies.

From 2024, foreigners and stateless persons will be able to apply for training under the primary specialization program “General Medical Practice”. Foreigners and stateless persons who have completed training under the primary specialization program “General Medical Practice” and want to obtain a specialist doctor’s certificate will be able to continue their studies at the training program in an internship for a shorter period of time if they have a state certificate of proficiency in the state language not lower than the intermediate level first degree, issued by the National Commission for State Language Standards.

In order to apply for an internship, graduates of previous years who studied at the expense of the state budget, and graduates from among the privileged categories, must obtain the approval of the Ministry of Health. It is provided on the basis of the graduate’s application and the letter of approval of the institution of higher education in which the graduate plans to undergo an internship. The letter specifies the specialty for which it is proposed to enrol the future doctor (pharmacist) intern, and the course of the practical part of training in an internship.

More information can be found at the link.