Why Finland Finland is a welfare state with the aim of securing for its 5.

2 million inhabitants equal opportunities for a good life and for the most efficient use of its resources as possible. The geopolitical location between West and East has always been reflected in the countrys events and goings on. With this combination of western and eastern influences, Finnish culture has developed into something strong and highly individual. Just like the Finns themselves. In the section Finnish Way of Life youll find basic information about Finland and the Finns. We have also chosen some photos to show you how Finland looks like. In the Stories section students who have already chosen Finland give their answers to the question Why Finland?

http://finland.cimo.fi/why_finland/finland_in_photos.html

Useful Websites and Addresses: Finnish Medical Association Mkelnkatu 2, PL 49 FI- 00501 Helsinki Tel. +358 (0) 9 393 091 Fax +358 (0) 9 393 0794 fma@fimnet.fi http://www.laakariliitto.fi/e/index.html

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Postal address: PO BOX 33, FI-00023 GOVERNMENT, FINLAND Visiting address: Meritullinkatu 8, 00170 Helsinki Telephone: +358 9 160 01 Telefax: +358 9 160 74126 (registry), E-mail: kirjaamo.stm@stm.fi International Affairs Unit, posti.kvtn@stm.fi Telefax +358 9 160 73296 http://www.stm.fi National Board of Medicolegal Affairs (Terveydenhuollon oikeusturvakeskus, TEO) Lintulahdenkatu 10 00500 Helsinki, Finland P.O. Box 265, Fin- 00531 Helsinki, Finland Telephone +358 9 7729 20 Telefax +358 9 7729 2138 http://www.teo.fi/ European Medical Association: http://www.emanet.org/postgraduate/Finland.html

HOW TO COME TO WORK IN FINLAND AS A DOCTOR

Application to the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs In order to be able to work in Finland as a health care professional, you must submit an application to TEO for the right to practice your profession. The free form application must specify the profession that you wish to practice. The applicant must date and sign the document in his/her own hand. It is recommended that the application be written in Finish, Swedish or English. The application must include the following enclosures: Passport (copy) Degree certificate A valid certificate of your right to practice your profession in the EU Member State from which you come to Finland A certificate showing that your education complies with the requirements laid down in the pertinent EU Directives. Formal requirements for the application documents The enclosures must be officially certified copies of the original documents. Translations of the documents into Finnish, Swedish or English must also be presented. The certificate of the compliance of your education with the pertinent EU Directives must be the original document, and it may not be more than three months old. TEO will keep the application documents.

TEO charges a fee for its decisions TEOs decision on the right to practice a profession is issued in Finish or in Swedish. The decision is subject to a fee. SV number for physicians and dentists Physicians and dentists need a sickness insurance number (SV number), which can be obtained from the Social Insurance Institution (SII) after the granting of a licence by TEO. The SV number must be written or stamped, for instance, on all prescriptions for medications. TEO informs the SII on the granting of a licence, after which the SV number can be ordered from the SII Health and Income Security Department, either by telephone (09) 434 11, or by letter, P.O. Box 00381 Helsinki. At the same time, you may also place an order for a SV stamp showing your name, degree, specialization and the SV number. On request, the stamp may also include your address. The stamps come in three different models, and the first one is supplied free of charge. Residence permit All workers coming to Finland from abroad must obtain a residence permit if their employment lasts longer than three months. The police department of the place of residence grants the residence permit. For obtaining the permit, you need your passport or ID card, a photograph and your employment contract or some other document of your employment. As a rule the residence permit is granted for five years. If the employment lasts for less than one year, the permit is only granted for the period of employment. People coming from the EU Member States do not need a work permit. Irrespective of their nationality, the family members (spouse or cohabitation partner, children, parents) of people who have moved to Finland also have the right to reside in Finland. Any family members, who depend on the worker residing in Finland for their keep must present a certificate to this effect, issued by the authorities of their country of domicile. Students who are citizens of the countries encompassed by the EEA are entitled to receive a residence permit for the duration of their studies in Finland. A prerequisite for the permit is that the students are able to secure their livelihood using their own means. Students have the right to work during their studies. Pensioners who are citizens of the countries encompassed by the EEA are entitled to receive a residence permit in Finland if they are able to secure their livelihood without resorting to social security in Finland. The same applies to pensioners family members. Registration of a business Before starting a business, for instance a private health care practice, you must fill in a notification form and send it to the National Board of Patents and Registration for registration purposes. The notification of a new business contains the basic data on the business and on the person operating the business. Self-employment Self-employment refers to the health care professionals who hold no public post and are not employed by any other organization, either. They produce services independently, for their own

clients. TEO must be notified of self-employment. The notification must included the following data: personal data, profession, domicile, and type of self-employment and the date when started. TEO must also be notified of the cessation of self-employment. Temporary practice of a profession Temporary practice of a health care profession is possible by notifying TEO in writing there before starting the work. The notification must show the type of temporary services provided, the time and place of their provision, and the nationality of the person providing the services. This applies only to the physicians, dentists, registered nurses, midwives and pharmacists (M.Sc. in pharmacy) Language proficiency Licensing or use of a protected title does not involve any language proficiency requirements confirmed by the public authorities. The employer (e.g. the local authority) may, however require a certificate of language skills. More than 90% of the population in Finland speak Finnish as their native language, and slightly over 5 % speak Swedish. Finnish and Swedish are the two official languages of the country. More information about language courses can be obtained from employment agencies or directly from institutes of education. Many institutes of education in Finland arrange courses in Finnish for foreigners, for instance: vocational adult-educational centres senior secondary schools for adults adult-education institutes folk high schools summer universities language centres of universities

Specialization The Faculty of Medicine is also responsible for specialist training in medicine:
Universities, Medical Faculties: University of Helsinki: http://www.helsinki.fi/eng/index.html, http://www.med.helsinki.fi/frontpage_english.asp?route=1.56.1419 University of Turku: http://www.utu.fi/en/ University of Tampere: http://www.uta.fi/english/index.html, http://www.uta.fi/tiedekunnat/laak/english/specialization.html University of Oulu: http://www.oulu.fi/english/index.html University of Kuopio: http://www.uku.fi/english/ http://www.uta.fi/tiedekunnat/laak/english/specialization.html:

Specialization

The Faculty of Medicine is also responsible for specialist training in medicine. About 50% of all Finnish medical doctors are specialists. The aim of the specialist training is to provide the doctor with comprehensive theoretical and practical skills, which are defined in advance. The necessary further studies usually take five or six years; two years in a special field closely related to the major speciality and four years in the speciality itself. The university system:
Specific training in general medical practice Specialist training 4 years National examination Theoretical studies (80-100 hours) Administrative studies (20 hours) Symposia in the speciality (60-100 hours)

Possibilities of foreign physicians practising medicine and taking the degree of specialist in Finland

The prerequisites for granting of such a license are: 1. A degree in medicine taken abroad and approved by the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs (TEO). 2. Adequate written and oral knowledge of Finnish. Ability in Finnish may be shown by a certificate signed by an Assessor on the State Board on Language Examinations. 3. Offer of a position in a Finnish hospital. All foreign physicians wishing to practise in Finland must find work for themselves and the notice of employment from the hospital should be forwarded to the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs. An absolute prerequisite for taking degree of specialist is that the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs has granted the physician concerned a licence to practice medicine in Finland. A foreign physician can start his specialization after having obtained this authority to act as a physician. The specialization takes six years and comprises mostly 1. practical service at hospitals and health centres 2. theoretical studies and 3. written specialist examination. In addition to a licence granted by the National Board of Medicolegal Affairs, each foreign physician must be in possession of a valid Finnish work permit. The Centre for Aliens' Affairs of the Finnish Ministry of the Interior is responsible for deciding whether or not a work permit shall be issued.

European Medical Association: http://www.emanet.org/postgraduate/Finland.html

1. Duration of post-graduate studies. There are two different types of studies: * General Training: "Lketieteen tohtori". It is a doctor's degree: 3-4 years. * Specialist Training: "Erikoislkri: 6-8 years Specialist degree 2. Access to post-graduate studies. - "Lketieteen tohtori" (Doctor's degree). There is open access; often depends on the possibility of finding a professor to supervise the studies. - "Erikoislkri" (Specialist's degree in medicine). The person has to have the right to practice the profession of doctors in Finland. 3. Competent authority. - "Lketieteen tohtori" (Doctor's degree). The competent authority is the University. - "Erikoislkri" (Specialist degree). The competent authority is the University. The Ministry of Education, after having consulted the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, decides which degree programmes can be offered in each university. The right to practice the profession of doctor in Finland is granted by the National Board of MedicoLegal Affairs. 4. Different post-graduate studies. - "Lketieteen" (Doctor's degree) - "Erikoislkri" (Specialist's degree). The programme includes practical training, theoretical education and a national examination in the chosen field of specialisation. * Specialisation Programmes: 6 years. There are 92 fields of specialisation - Anaesthetics. - Biological chemistry - Child neurology - Child psychiatry - Clinical neurophysiology - Clinical physiology - Community medicine - Dermato- venerology - Diagnostic radiology - Forensic medicine - General internal medicine - General medicine (practice) - Diagnostic radiology

- General surgery - Geriatrics - Maxillo- facial-surgery - Medical Genetics. - Microbiology. - Neurological Surgery. - Neurology. - Obstetrics and gynaecology - Occupational Medicine. - Oncology and radiotherapy. - Ophthalmology. - Otorhinolaryngology - Pathological anatomy. - Paediatrics - Pharmacology. - Physiotherapy. - Respiratory medicine. - Sports medicine. * Specialization Programmes: 8 years. - Adolescent psychiatry in Child Psychiatry. in Psychiatry. - Allergology in Dermato-venerology in General (internal) medicine. in Otorhinolaryngology. in Respiratory medicine. - Audiology in Otorhinolaryngology. - Bacteriology in microbiology. - Cardiology. - Child allergology - Child cardiology - Child physiology - Communicable diseases - Drugs in biological chemistry - Endocrinology - Environmental health in Community medicine - Environmental health in General medicine - Environmental health in Occupational medicine - Forensic psychiatry - Gastroenterology - Gastroenterological surgery - General haematology. - Geriatrics in General internal) medicine - Geriatrics in neurology - Geriatrics in psychiatry - Gynaecological endocrinology - Geriatrics endoscopy (urology) - Geriatrics oncology. - Immunology in Clinical microbiology - Nuclear medicine - Occupational dermatology - Orthopaedics - Paediatric gastroenterology - Paediatric haematology - Paediatric infections diseases - Paediatric nephrology - Paediatric surgery - Plastic surgery - Biological haematology - Endocrinology in Biological chemistry - Hand surgery

- Neonatology - Neuro- ophthalmology - Neuropathology - Neuroradiology - Occupational medicine - Paediatric radiology - Paediatric pathology - Perinatology in Obstetrics and gynaecology - Rheumatology - Thoracic surgery - Urology - Virology 5. Legal references. - Decree Concerning the Specialists Degree in Medicine (691/85) - Laki terveydenhuollon ammattihenkilist (559/94) 28/6/94 - Asetus terveydenhuollon ammattihenkilist (564/94) 28/6/94 - "Lketieteen tohtori": Decree 762/95 - "Erikoislkri": Decree 1436/93