Examinations required for doctors trained outside the EU/EEA

If you are a physician trained outside the EU/EEA, you must pass examinations testing your professional skills. You may take these examinations if you have had at least 6 months of job training or internship as a physician in Finland and you have demonstrated sufficient language proficiency. Job training done after you completed your degree is accepted as job training for this purpose. You must have completed the required 6 months of training before the examination registration deadline.

The examinations are organised by Valvira jointly with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at the University of Tampere. There are three separate examinations, which must be completed in the following order.

1. Clinical examination
   A written examination testing your basic knowledge in clinical medicine and health care. The questions on this written examination are patient cases in the principal medical specialities, and their demand level is consistent with the final examinations for a Licentiate of Medicine degree in Finland.
2. Examination on the Finnish health care system
   A written examination testing your knowledge of key facts that are important for practising as a medical professional in Finland, in areas such as social welfare and health care, legislation, health care systems, forensic medicine and pharmaceutical supply.
3. Practical patient care examination
   The purpose of the patient care examination is to ensure that you have the ability to engage with patients and to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in your training in basic health care duties. You are also tested for your command of the main procedures in the work of a general practitioner. You must be able to work with specialised medical care and be familiar with health promotion practices. Your practical patient care examination will be held at a health centre.

Restrictions on taking the examinations

You are allowed to take the clinical and administrative examinations no more than 10 times each. If you fail an examination for the third time, you must wait for one year before signing up for that examination again. If you fail either your clinical or your administrative examination 10 times, you will not be allowed to take the examination again.

You are allowed to take the practical patient care examination no more than 3 times. If you fail at your first attempt in the practical patient care examination, you will have to wait 6 months before signing up for the examination again. If you then fail at your second attempt, you will have to wait one year before signing up for the examination for a third time. During that one year, you must work at a hospital or health centre maintained by a public body for a period of 6 months. You must submit a statement from your employer for that period to Valvira. If you fail at your third attempt, you will not be allowed to take the practical patient care examination again.

Application procedure

You must sign up with Valvira for your first clinical examination. You may register using the registration form (in Finnish). You must sign up with Valvira at least one week before the University’s registration deadline.

For the administrative examination, you must sign up directly with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at the University of Tampere.  

For the practical patient care examination, you must agree on the date with the Faculty. As of 1 January 2022, the University of Tampere will require those signing up for the practical patient care examination to have language proficiency at level YKI-4 (in Finnish and Swedish).

The clinical and administrative examinations are held four times a year: in February, May, September and November. For information on the examination dates, fees and other practical details, please contact the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at the University of Tampere, tel. 040 190 9830, [email protected].

The University will issue you a certificate on the examinations once you have passed all three of them. Further information on the examinations at the University of Tampere (in Finnish).