English requirement proving barrier to Ukrainians working as health professionals here 

English language ability remains the biggest barrier to Ukrainian healthcare staff working in Ireland.

Ireland could soon see Ukrainian healthcare staff working as doctors, nurses, medical scientists, and physiotherapists among other roles as new supports start to show results.

However, English ability remains the biggest barrier, with many needing months rather than weeks of dedicated help, one Ukrainian GP working with the refugees and HSE said.

All doctors must register with the Irish Medical Council which requires English and medical exams, the Pre-Registration Examination System (PRES), from non-EU doctors.

“We have currently received 14 applications for registration, with many others preparing for registration by completing English courses and preparing for other pre-registration exams,” a spokesman said.

They had “over 300“ responses to a survey among Ukrainian doctors in Ireland, indicating the pool of potential new doctors is much higher.

It is understood as many as 200 are taking various levels of English classes around the country.

Funding

The Department of Health is now funding short courses for the specific English exam needed. This funding can also be accessed by nurses or midwives from Ukraine.

The Department is also funding the cost of sitting the PRES exams “to a maximum of two attempts while funding is available,” he said.

Coru is the regulatory body for allied health professionals who work in hospitals or communities.

“Coru has received nine applications from professionals seeking to have their qualifications recognised for the purposes of registration,” a spokeswoman said.

This includes two medical scientists, three physiotherapists, one radiation therapist, two optometrists and one radiographer.

Overall CORU has received “120 queries from healthcare professionals who have fled Ukraine”, she said.

Nurses and midwives must apply through the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) for registration.

“Since February 2022, no nurse or midwife who gained their qualification in Ukraine has joined the Register of Nurses and Midwives in Ireland,” a spokeswoman said.

“Seven nurses and one midwife have applied to join the register, and none have yet been registered.” 

Training standards

NMBI has been in discussion with the EU Commission and International Migrants Organisation as well as the HSE and Department of Health to learn more about training standards in Ukraine.

A separate “bridging programme” was developed between NMBI and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RSCI) for Ukrainian nurses or midwives but not enough people have applied yet to run this.

Ukrainian GP Dr Kateryna Kachurets has been working in Ireland for seven years. She is now working with the HSE and the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) on the crisis response.

“It’s been over a year, so even 14 is not a high number considering the total number of doctors here,” she said.

“I think language is a big barrier for most of them. A lot of them needed that time to learn the language. From what we are hearing some doctors who are enrolled in the language course, some of them are working part-time as well so they don’t have the headspace to study for the language test and the medical test together.” 

 She is aware of Ukrainian doctors working as healthcare assistants, medical translators, and as phlebotomists (staff who collect blood from patients).

She described the holding of PRES exams in Dublin next month for the first time in seven years as “a good news story” for the process.