Doctors with foreign certificates seek accreditation, threaten escalation

AMMAN — A group of doctors within the Jordan Medical Association (JMA) last Thursday warned of more escalatory measures if their demands are not met by the government, starting with an open-ended strike until their experiences and trainings are recognised by the relevant authorities.  

The warning came during a sit-in staged by the doctors in front of the Higher Medical Council, where holders of medical certificates from abroad and qualified residents who have completed their residency successfully called on the council to deliver their demands to the Ministry of Health. 

The demands of the doctors were presented to the council by Rami Abu Ruman, head of the association of qualified residents and training specialists within the union, who lamented that the policies of the Higher Medical Council and the Ministry of Health are "negatively affecting over 700 doctors".

Asked about the protesters’ demands, JMA President Ali Abous told The Jordan Times that “several medical residents who finished their training without passing the board exam are still working under the umbrella of specialists without the proper recognition”, adding that “if they finish their work within the Ministry of Health, they will return to the status of general practitioner without any privilege of recognition of their past working in the specialty”. 

“In order to fix the situation, we have recommended the provision of certificates that recognise their experience in the field instead of granting them certificates of specialty,” the doctor continued, explaining: “This is a solution that would enable them to work in the field without returning to the status of general practitioners.” 

Concerning the holders of medical certificates from abroad, Abous noted that protesters also called for the reconsideration of the laws and regulations of the Higher Medical Council regarding the recognition of foreign certificates, demanding the application of the laws prior to 2001 to doctors who joined specialisation programmes before December 13, 2001, in order to ensure the recognition of their training. 

For his part, Secretary General of the Higher Medical Council Nidal Younis said that the demands of the doctors will soon be presented to the relevant committees, unveiling the council's plan create a national database for trained doctors and set up a new system for written and practical examinations. 

“However, there are still no immediate solutions to the demands,” Younis added, stressing that some of the requests require decisions by the presidency of the council represented by the Ministry of Health.