Today, January 31, the Cabinet of Ministers made changes to the procedure for the certification of medical personnel, expanding the range of medical personnel who will be entitled to recertification. The changes were made in cooperation with the Latvian Association of Physicians.
Recertification has two essential criteria – professional activity must have been carried out in the relevant specialty for no less than three years during the validity period of the certificate (five years); and the medical practitioner must have obtained a certain number of continuing education points during the validity period of the certificate.
The Ministry of Health explains that the requirement for professional activity during the validity period of the certificate (five years) in a period of no less than three years is objective, justified, and related to the mandatory maintenance of the practical activity skills of any medical practitioner as a regulated profession. However, the regulations provided until now that in case of non-fulfillment of this criterion (the professional activity has been carried out for less than three years), the medical practitioner does not have the right to re-obtain the certificate in the recertification procedure.
In the future, the right to recertification will also be available to medical personnel who have attended continuing education events, followed the latest scientific and practical findings in the specialty, but who have not worked in the specialty long enough or at all. In such a case, a test of professional suitability will be applied to ensure patients’ right to quality and qualified treatment.
As you know, in medicine, certification is applied to medical personnel in the main specialty, subspecialty or additional specialty. Certificates are issued by professional organizations, such as the Association of Latvian Doctors.
