This free course is offered to all foreign medical doctors that take part in the Catalan healthcare system.

By end of 2008 120 medical doctors will have completed the Programme of the Institute of Health Studies.


The Reception Programme for foreign medical professionals who will work in Catalonia was launched this morning by the Institute of Health Studies of the Ministry of Health. The first information session was held today with the attendance of 23 professionals from South America, Cuba, and Poland. By end of 2008 it is foreseen 120 will have been trained.

Medical doctors who arrive in Catalonia to practice have very different levels of competence. For this reason, a training proposal has been made which is based, on the one hand, on knowledge related with the juridical, legal and health system, and on the other, on the contribution of resources to enable the integration process in the workplace through active tutoring.

Concerning contents and methodology, the Reception Programme for foreign professionals is structured in three parts. The first part, full time classroom courses and common for all participants, is based on the running of the Catalan and Spanish health systems, the legal framework and the ethical code for doctors, regulations on pharmaceutical prescription, etc. The second is based, on the one hand, on training to tackle situations of urgency and emergency and, on the other, on a follow-up programme for foreign doctors on their workplace. Pupils will be tutored by a reference doctor of the centre. The third part consists on an competency evaluation test that will serve to determine activities to recommend individually to improve competency.

The performing of the three parts of the course will give right to a certificate of completion issued by the Institute of Health Studies and the corresponding professional association.

In the last four months of the year four decentralised editions of the Programme will be held in order to approach the territory and health care providers.