Foreign-Trained Doctors Required to Sit for Local Exams

Foreign-trained doctors hoping to practise in Zimbabwe must first pass local examinations before they can be registered to work in the country’s health sector, the government has said. The requirement is meant to ensure that all medical practitioners meet the same standards as those trained within the country. Responding to questions in the National Assembly, Deputy Health and Child Care Minister Sleiman Kwidini said the policy accounts for differences in medical training systems across the world.

“When a person has decided to go out and train or acquire skills that are also available in their own country, when that person comes back to be enrolled, he or she has to go through examinations so that they are on the same level as those students who trained in the country,” Kwidini said. He added that many foreign-trained doctors successfully pass the required tests and are then registered to practise in Zimbabwe. However, some struggle to meet the requirements because of variations in training curricula between countries.

“So, most of them are failing to register in the country because of the difference in curriculum. However, most of them have followed the system and written the examinations required when they come back after training outside,” he said. Kwidini stressed that the rule applies to all practitioners seeking to work in Zimbabwe including foreign nationals. “This applies to everyone, whether local or international, because whenever foreign doctors are recruited to come and offer services in Zimbabwe, every standard procedure is followed to ascertain whether they are qualified or specialized in the field we want to fill,” he said.