REGISTRATION OF MEDICAL LABORATORY
TECHNOLOGIST QUALIFIED ABROAD
Per Haugum
Correspondence
Per Haugum
The Norwegian Registration Authority for Health Personnel
Postbox 8053 Dep, 0031
Oslo, Norway
email : postmottak@safh.no
The Norwegian Registration Authority for Health
Personnel
In Norway there is only one governemental regulating body, who
register all health professionals in Norway. In Norway there is
also only one legislative Act, which regulate all health
professionals and there is one central database, with all
registered health professionals in Norway.
Regulated professions in Norway
In Norway there are 29 regulated professions in the health care
services, of which the medical laboratory technologist
(bioingeniør) is one.
With a population of about 4.9 millions, there are authorised
6 887 medical laboratory technologists in Norway. Of those is
6 510 with education from Norway, 242 with education from
another Nordic country (Sweden, Denmark, Finland or Iceland), 70
with education from an EEA country outside the Nordic countries and
65 with education from a country outside EEA.
Monopoly of title and responsible conduct
Registration as health professional in Norway gives the right to
use the professional title. There is in other words a monopoly of
title. It is no monopoly of methods in Norway:
The health professional act does not regulate what the health
personnel can do, but health professionals shall conduct their work
in accordance with the requirements to professional responsibility
and diligent care that can be expected based on their
qualifications, the nature of their work and the situation in
general.
The legal framework requires responsible conduct and the health
professional act article 4 says:
"Health personnel shall conduct their work in accordance with the
requirements to professional responsibility and diligent care that
can be expected based on their qualifications, the nature of their
work and the situation in general.
Health personnel shall act in accordance with their professional
qualifications, and assistance shall be obtained and patients shall
be referred on to others if this is necessary and possible. If the
patient's needs so indicate, the profession shall be performed
through co-operation and inter-action with other qualified
personnel."
This has given Norway a flexible system, which enables employers to
deploy professionals flexible and avoids professional rivalry.
Regulation in Norway
Regulation in Norway is divided with three authorities:
- The Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education
(NOKUT)approves university courses
- The Norwegian Registration Authority for Health personnel
(SAFH) gives the authorisations and holds the register
- The National Board of Health (Htil) runs the Diciplinary
actions
Authorisation as a Medical Laboratory Technologist in
Norway
Legislation
The Norwegian Health Professional Act - Article 48 says:
"The right to be granted an authorisation following an
application belongs to anyone who:
- has passed an examination in the relevant subject at a
Norwegian university or college or through occupational training at
a secondary level,
- has completed practical training in accordance with
regulations laid down by the Ministry,
- is under 75 years of age and
- is not considered to be unfit for the
profession."
The right to be granted an authorisation following an
application also belongs to anyone who:
- has passed an examination in a foreign country which is
recognised as being equally as good as the equivalent Norwegian
examination,
- has passed an examination which is recognised in accordance
with agreement on mutual recognition pursuant to section 52,
or
- has otherwise proven to possess the necessary
skills."
With this legal regulation Norway divides the applicants into
four groups:
- With education from Norway
- With education from another Nordic country
- With education from an EEA country outside the Nordic
countries
- With education from a non-EEA country
With education from
Norway
The education in Norway is in accordance with the Norwegian act
relating to universities and university colleges article 3-2 and
the regulation in accordance with the law: The regulation gives the
national framework for qualifications and objectives for degree
courses and professional training courses
For Medical Laboratory Technologist is like this:
- Three years course at a University College that gives 180
ECTS
- Bachelor degree as Medical Laboratory Technologist.
With education from another Nordic
country
Between the Nordic countries we have had The Nordic Agreement
for Common Labour Market for Health Care Professionals and
Veterinary Surgeons since the 1950s. In the agreements article 12
a, about Medical Laboratory Technologist the Nordic countries have
harmonised the educations for this professions
- Sweden - Biomedisinsk analytiker
- Denmark - Hospitallaborant
- Finland - Laboratoriohoitajat/laboratorieskötare
- Iceland - Meinatæknar
- Norway - Bioingeniør
If an applicant with on of these educations from another Nordic
country is authorised in one country he or she will be given
automatic authorisation in the other countries.
With education from an EEA country outside the
Nordic countries
The application has to be handled in accordance with the
regulation in directive 2005/36/EU
The medical laboratory technologist is not a harmonised
education in EU. SAFH must therefore compare the applicant's
qualification with the norwegian education for Medical Laboratory
Technologist
The applicant must provide attestations of competence or
evidence of formal qualifications that shall satisfy:
- That the attestation have been issued by a competent authority
in a Member State where the profession is regulated
- That the applicant's education is at least equivalent to the
level immediately prior to that which is required in the host
Member State, as described in Article 11.
- shall also be granted to applicants who have pursued the
profession referred to in that paragraph on a full-time basis for
two years during the previous 10 years in another Member State
which does not regulate that profession
Compensation measures can be decided. Article 13 does not
preclude the host Member State from requiring the applicant to
complete an adaptation period of up to three years
or to take an aptitude test if:
- the duration of the training of which he provides evidence
under the terms of Article 13, paragraph 1 or 2, is at least one
year shorter than that required by the host Member State;
- the training he has received covers substantially different
matters than those covered by the evidence of formal qualifications
required in the host Member State;
- the regulated profession in the host Member State comprises one
or more regulated professional activities which do not exist in the
corresponding profession in the applicant's home Member State
within the meaning of Article 4(2), and that difference consists in
specific training which is required in the host Member State and
which covers substantially different matters from those covered by
the applicant's attestation of competence or evidence of formal
qualifications.
With qualifications from a non-EU
country
According to norwegian legislation the qualification must be
approximately equal to the norwegian education, or the applicant
must have recieved the necessary qualifications to work as a
medical laboratory technologist in Norway to be given authorisation
in Norway with qualifications from a country outside EEA.
A license or work experience in an EU country is relevant when
these applications are treated.
A case study
Anna Smith, Medical Laboratory Technologist from f.ex. Poland or
the UK applies to SAFH for an authorisation as "boingeniør"
Enclosed with Anna's application there have to be documentation
of:
- Identification, eg passport
- Documentation from the education (diploma)
- Detailed description of the contents of the education
- Documentation from the employers about her work experience
- Certificate of Current Professional Status (CCPS)