Candidates for resident studies in paediatric specialization will be included in this study from 1 October 2023.
Education of doctors in the specialization field of pediatrics in general offices for children and adolescents is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Health. Already today, about half of the paediatricians are in general offices for children and retirement age. One of the tools that aims to attract young doctors to a child patient is resident study. From 1 October 2023, candidates will again be allowed to join the resident study in paediatric studies.
The application for inclusion of a healthcare professional in a resident study shall be submitted by the employer of the healthcare professional of the educational establishment designated by the municipality in which the resident will provide health care upon completion of the resident study. The employer of the resident can only be a provider of institutional health care.
This change will allow health professionals to be included in resident studies in other specialised fields than general medicine by 1 October 2023. Young doctors will be able to report to the resident study from 1 August 2023 when the amendment of the law will be effective.
The inclusion of doctors and nurses in a resident study takes place on 1 February and 1 October each year. This year the Ministry suspended the inclusion of candidates in the specialized field of pediatrics in resident studies on 1 February. The reason for this was a change in the law, which was enforced after negotiations with medical union representatives, on the basis of which the new residents, later graduates of resident studies in paediatric specialization, were not bound by any obligations, e.g. the obligation to remain working in Slovakia after graduation and subsequent sanctions for violation of the conditions of the resident study. On the contrary, residents who entered this project before 2023 would, however, be obliged to do so. The suspension of the inclusion of candidates in the resident study was only a temporary measure by the Ministry of Health on the ground that the legislation in question created the principle of unequal treatment in the resident study.
Re-inclusion of doctors in the paediatric specialization study is possible after the Parliament accepted the amendment of the chairman of the health committee Marek Krajči, who adopted the ministerial proposal and submitted it for discussion of the OR SR.