Doctors can find work quite easily in Finland, but the shortage of specialists in the healthcare system is already gradually decreasing
“The idea of working in Finland came up a few years ago, when I was still studying at the medical faculty of the University of Tartu,” hematologist Polina Savitski tells a Finland.fi correspondent. “That’s when I started learning Finnish.” Polina moved from Estonia to Finland and has been working as a doctor in the internal medicine department of Pohjois-Kymen sairaala in Kouvola for over a year.
After graduating from university, Polina specialized in hematology for several years and worked as a resident doctor at the University of Tartu clinic. Then the Savitski family decided to move to Finland. “In Estonia, there are companies that offer medical professionals intermediary services for employment in Finland,” says Polina. “I signed a contract with one such company and completed Finnish language courses, including the study of Finnish medical terms.” Of course, one can also move to Finland independently, without intermediary companies.
A copy of Polina's diploma and other documents were sent to the Finnish National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, Valvira, from which a message later came that Polina Savitski was entered into the database of doctors licensed to work in Finland. In September 2015, she started working at Pohjois-Kymen sairaala.
According to a statistical report by the Finnish Medical Association, at the beginning of 2015, 20,403 doctors were registered living in Finland and entitled to practice medicine. For 18,209 specialists, Finnish is their native language. The others named Swedish (758 people), Russian (398), Estonian (334), German (84), etc. as their native language.
“Doctors can find work quite easily, but the shortage of specialists in our healthcare system is gradually decreasing,” notes Hannu Halila, Deputy Director of the Finnish Medical Association. “For specialists arriving from European Union countries, it is not very difficult to obtain a work permit from the Finnish National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, Valvira.”
Specialists from EU countries are not required to undergo additional training or take any exams. In the future, they may have to take a test in Finnish or Swedish.
Graduates of medical faculties who have received education outside the EU (in particular, in countries of the former Soviet Union) can also work in Finland. However, they need to make more effort to find employment. “To do this, at the University of Tampere, they must take three exams in Finnish: a written exam in clinical medicine, an exam on Finnish health legislation, and a practical test on patient reception at a clinic,” explains Hannu Halila.
The effort will pay off handsomely. A study conducted by the Finnish Medical Association in 2014 shows that the average salary of doctors is 6,500 euros per month.
“I like the nature of my work in Finland,” Polina admits. “Acceptable conditions for doctors have been created here. For example, nurses inform relatives about the patient's health, and I have time to focus on my direct duties. Moreover, there are excellent relationships between colleagues in Finland – you can always consult and get advice from specialists in another field of medicine.”