The professional qualifications of Polish nurses are automatically recognised in EU Member States. Since 2013 this automatic recognition concerns not only nurses with an academic degree but also those who completed a medical secondary school before 2004, i.e. before Poland’s accession to the EU.
According to the data provided by the Ministry of Health, a few thousand nurses left Poland and received an attestation of their professional qualifications in other EU Member States, mainly in the UK.
The qualifications of Polish nurses have not always been recognised in the EU
Following Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004, the qualifications of Polish nurses who were graduates of the former 5-year medical secondary schools or 2-year post-secondary nursing schools were not recognised in other EU Member States.
Polish nurses without an academic degree could work in other EU countries only as nursing assistants or carers. In order to practise their profession in other EU Member State, they had to complete bridging courses.
Such special free-of-charge bridging courses allowing to obtain a Bachelor’s degree, co-funded by the EU from 2008 to November 2013, were completed by over 29 thousand nurses and midwives. In 2009 the European Commission reduced the duration of the bridging courses from five to two semesters, which enabled the increase of the number of project participants.
The complaint to the EU Court of Justice
Poland submitted a complaint on this issue to the Court of Justice of the European Union. In 2007 the Court dismissed the complaint of the Polish government on the Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications and stated in its verdict that EU countries were not obliged to recognise the professional qualifications of Polish nurses who had completed medical secondary schools.
In October 2013, after a few years of Poland’s striving for a change in regulations, the European Parliament amended the Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications and recognised the qualifications of Polish nurses who had completed medical secondary schools before Poland joined the EU.
Currently those willing to practice the nursing profession need to complete higher education studies in the field lasting at least three years and obtain a Bachelor’s or Master’s title.
There are around 160-180 thousand professionally active nurses in Poland
Provisions on the attestation of the licence to practice the profession of a nurse or midwife are specified in the Act on nurse and midwife professions.
The profession of a nurse or midwife can be practiced by a person with a licence to practice issued by the relevant district chamber of nurses and midwives. Professional associations do not automatically apply for such licence; they are issued only upon request of the person concerned submitted to the district chamber in the area where the person intends to practice the profession.
Obtaining a licence to practice the profession is associated with an entry to the register of members of the self-government of nurses and midwives. After verification of the right to practice the profession, a nurse obtains a certificate confirming the licence to practice.
In Poland there are 45 District Chambers of Nurses and Midwives which run registers of nurses and midwives. In turn, the central register of nurses and midwives is kept by the Main Chamber of Nurses and Midwives.
Currently over 300 thousand nurses are registered in Poland, but only 160-180 thousand actively practice the profession.
Comments (0)