Poland Proposes Stricter Medical Exams, Shorter Internships

Poland's Ministry of Health has put forward a draft bill proposing substantial reforms to the medical profession, aiming to bolster patient safety and improve healthcare accessibility. The proposed legislation targets both the duration of postgraduate training and the rigor of final medical examinations.

A key change involves shortening the mandatory postgraduate internship for doctors and dentists to six months, a reduction of seven months for physicians and six for dental surgeons. This adjustment aligns with updated medical education standards implemented from the 2024/2025 academic year, which emphasize practical training through medical simulation centers.

While the Conference of Rectors of Academic Medical Universities (KRAUM) had advocated for eliminating the internship entirely, the proposed six-month period represents a compromise. The National Medical Chamber, however, remains opposed to these changes. The ministry also cited significant cost savings, estimating a reduction from over 1.3 billion PLN to approximately 680 million PLN annually due to the shorter internship.

Further reforms focus on residency programs, with provincial governors set to determine placements based on specialist demand. Doctors with the highest scores on their final exams will receive priority in selecting residency positions. The final medical and dental exams (LEK and LDEK) will also become more challenging, with the ministry planning to increase the proportion of unpublished questions beyond the current 70% that are publicly available.

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