Some requirements for personnel of health care institutions

License conditions regarding the activities in the field of medical practice and an array of health care regulations impose a significant number of requirements on doctors who plan to practice medicine as individual entrepreneurs, as well as on the doctors hired to work in medical, diagnostic centers, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities. As to the latter, clear and sometimes strict requirements are applied not only to doctors, but also to junior medical personnel. Licensees should understand that even in case of the slightest incompetence of an ordinary nurse, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine may refuse to issue a medical license. However, such risks of refusal can be avoided or at least mitigated, if you keep track of a number of basic staff requirements and the ways their qualifications shall be reflected in the relevant records.

Requirements for doctors 

The thing to remember is each medical specialty indicated in the sanitary and epidemiological conclusion (SEC) and the sheets of material and technical resources (Sheet No. 1) should be confirmed by at least one doctor or junior medical officer. Thus, when filling in the statements, one should remember that none of the specialty vacancies shall be indicated without having an appropriate employee. The same holds true for filling in the staff list in the par. 1 of the human resources sheets.

Filling in column 2, par. 2 of the third sheet, it is necessary to specify the job title in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No.117 on the amendments to the Handbook of qualification characteristics of professions. Edition 78 “Healthcare”. Thus, the position specified as “dentist” is generally deemed as an error, since the full job title shall be "doctor of dental medicine".

When specifying the date and number of the document concerning acceptance for employment, it is necessary to specify such document details as date and number. In the case of individual entrepreneurs, the date and number of the entry in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs shall be indicated. This information can be found in the extract received during the registration of the individual entrepreneurs.

It is not only a diploma but also a specialist certificate that is required for the recognition of a physician’s qualifications in accordance with all law regulations. This document is issued by the relevant educational institution for a period of 5 years. It should be understood that the certificate is issued for a particular medical specialty (ophthalmology, neurology, dentistry, therapeutic dentistry, orthodontics, orthopedic dentistry), and therefore, the practice of medicine is limited to such specialty. And even in case of related specialties and doctor’s occupational qualifications (for example, “dentistry” and “therapeutic dentistry”), such practice will be legal only if the appropriate certificate is available.

Those doctors who started their medical practice before the introduction of these law requirements (back in the days of the USSR) shall justify the absence of a certificate. In addition to the above, such physicians in any case shall have a certificate of accreditation (confirmation of their qualifications) in the field of specialty practice.

The minimum set of qualifications for junior staff is a diploma in the relevant specialty and a certificate of continuing professional development. This certificate, as well as the specialist certificate, is valid for 5 years. After the expiry date, it is necessary to take new courses or obtain the category of medical specialty.

Requirements for Chief Medical Officers   

The information on the director of the healthcare facility forms a separate paragraph. Thus, only a person who has a medical specialist certificate in the specialty of “Health organization and management” can be appointed as a CMO or head of a healthcare facility. If a person holds several managerial positions (e.g. director and Chief Medical Officer or Chief Medical Officer position in several different healthcare facilities), he/she can’t be appointed as a CMO. In order to hold an appointment, a person shall resign or seek reassignment at the first place of employment. In some cases, if the employment relationship is properly formalized, one person may hold both positions, the CMO and the director of the healthcare facility.

You may also find interesting our publication about specific requirements for a doctor’s office or a healthcare facility in general. 

If you liked the article and you want us to prepare more useful material, please leave your comment in Google Search.