ByadminDental assistants and massage therapists outside Poland’s eastern border to be obligated to nostrify diplomas
The Ministry of Health has submitted a draft law on medical professions for public discussion. The law will determine who and under what conditions will be allowed to practice a particular profession. The document covers, among others:
- dental assistant
- speech therapist
- nutritionist
- medical guardian
- massage therapist
- dental technician
- pharmaceutical technician
In total, the bill specifies 17 professions, which, if approved, will be classified as medical. This means that such professions will be regulated on an equal basis with the professions of doctor and nurse.
Thus, for example, today a massage therapist in Poland can work as a person who:
has a Polish diploma confirming the completion of a secondary technical school, or another Polish diploma confirming a professional qualification in the profession of a massage therapist.
does not have a Polish diploma confirming compliance with the qualification requirements, but presented:
documents confirming that the education or training program completed by the applicant corresponds to the education or training program for the massage profession
other documents confirming the acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills, and documents confirming the performance of professional tasks for at least 2 years during the last 10 years
and received based on these documents the decision of the Minister of Health on the recognition of qualifications in this medical profession.
Currently, massage therapists from the countries of the former CIS can submit the above documents in the original and Polish translation to the Ministry of Health and obtain a work permit by profession.
If the bill is passed by the Sejm, a massage therapist from the eastern border of Poland will have to nostrify the diploma to obtain the right to work in his specialty. The same applies to all professions mentioned in the draft law, including the dental assistant.
As stated in the rationale for the bill, the changes envisaged in this document are aimed at introducing mechanisms that will ensure that only professionals have access to practice in the medical profession. Regulations should ensure that only highly qualified and competent medical personnel are employed in the health care system.
The bill provides for the creation of a central register of persons entitled to practice medicine. It will be stored in an electronic system and will be maintained by the voivodships. The register will be open to the public so that everyone can get information about the current number of people working in a particular medical profession in the territory of a particular voivodship.
The registry will also provide information on staffing needs in specific medical professions in certain regions of the country. The registry will also allow the patient to check the qualifications of the health worker they would like to make an appointment with.
The provisions of the bill impose on the health workers mentioned in it the duty of continuous professional development. It includes both postgraduate education and advanced training courses. The draft law also regulates issues of professional responsibility, in which cases it is limited to a fine, and in which – to take away the right to practice.
The Center for Medical Postgraduate Education (CMPE) will evaluate diplomas for equivalence with Polish educational programs for the medical professions specified in the bill. It is here that it will be determined whether our specialist – a massage therapist, speech therapist, nutritionist, pharmaceutical technician, or a representative of another medical profession mentioned in the bill, can proceed with the nostrification of their diploma.
The bill was submitted for public discussion on February 22, 2022. Hearings will last a month, after which the document will be sent to the Seimas for consideration. Hearings will last a month, after which the document will be sent to the Sejm for consideration.
