On 27 March, at the initiative of the Coordination Centre of Ukrainian Associations in Italy and lawyer Gabriele Dallara, adjunct lecturer in health law on university and professional training courses, the Forum of Ukrainian Health Professionals in Italy took place.
Representatives of the University of Naples Federico II – Prof. Nardone, as coordinator of the degree programme in Medicine and Surgery, Prof. Abete and Dr Chianese – kindly accepted the invitation. They outlined the general admission requirements for the School of Medicine, said they were ready to hold a follow-up meeting and offered to analyse in detail the problems faced by applicants from Ukraine.
Lawyer Gabriele Dallara set out the opportunities that Article 34 of Decree-Law 21/2022 gives Ukrainian health professionals to practise and work in Italy, and his personal contribution to getting this provision extended. Dr Salvatore Barbagallo, President of the Ordine dei Medici (Medical Board) of La Spezia, also expressed his willingness to cooperate and explained the conditions and rules of the Ordine dei Medici.
Lesia Babii, associate professor at Kharkiv National Medical University and Master of Public Administration from the Institute of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, and Andrii Andronyk, a Ukrainian doctor and administrator of the “Doctors in Italy” community, have both experienced at first hand the obstacles to getting Ukrainian medical diplomas recognised in Italy.
Yuliya Muts, lawyer and president of the Ukrainian association “Lilea”, highlighted the legal liability health professionals face if they practise without the required authorisation. Dr Yaryna Pylyukh, chartered accountant and statutory auditor, explained how health professionals from Ukraine can work legally in Italy by registering as self-employed
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The organiser and moderator of the meeting, Lara Levchun, President of the Coordinamento Unitario (Coordination Centre), invited the Consul General of Ukraine, Maksym Kovalenko, to close the forum. He stressed the importance of such events and gave assurances of his full support and readiness to keep the Ukrainian diaspora informed.
Key points
- Ukrainian health professionals face a number of obstacles and challenges in getting their diplomas recognised in Italy.
- Language barriers, bureaucratic procedures and the need to sit additional exams.
- The conditions of admission to a School of Medicine in Italy (University of Naples Federico II) for Ukrainians.
- The need for support and advice for health professionals during the diploma recognition process.
Forum participants discussed possible avenues for cooperation and ways to solve the problems, and established contacts with representatives of Italian medical organisations.
Next steps: the Coordination Centre of Ukrainian Associations will work on:
- preparing a request to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (regarding the certificate of “good standing”) and to the Embassy of Italy in Ukraine for an official clarification on the Dichiarazione di valore;
- producing accessible information on diploma recognition and on the conditions of admission to a School of Medicine in Italy for Ukrainians;
- organising a meeting with representatives of CIMEA and with the people responsible for the recognition/equipollenza of qualifications at Italy’s leading universities (a meeting with representatives of Bocconi University is already scheduled for April);
- informing the Directorate-General for Health Professions and Human Resources of the National Health Service and inviting it to discuss the problems Ukrainian health professionals encounter when submitting documents to the Italian Ministry of Health (good standing, criminal record certificate, archival records of study programmes).
The Forum is a joint effort — yours and ours.
Together we can draw up a clear, step-by-step procedure.
The same form stays open for future meetings. If you would like to, invite your colleagues.
Our motto: OUR PEOPLE FOR OUR PEOPLE.
