Words over Foreign Doctors
The Board of the Faculty of Medicine is accused of being arrogant and dismissive towards frustrated foreign doctors who want to complain about difficult medical examinations.
På norskForeign doctors, who are not part of the European Economic Area (EEA), have to take a medical examination for foreign medical doctors in order to get a permit for the practice of medicine in Norway. This year’s first test was given in April where 85 per cent of the candidates failed, which constitutes an increase of 15 per cent from autumn 2004. Several of the candidates are now announcing their intention to file complaints due to formal shortcomings of the examination. More and more people are considering legal actions as well. According to the medical magazine Dagens Medisin, the situation is close to a riot.
“Unbelievable”
The letter of complaint on behalf of the 44 candidates who failed their medical examination has been put down in words by Hans–Johan Breidablik, municipal doctor in Sula and married to Belarusian anaesthetist Alena Breidablik. He has given lectures himself to students of Medicine at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and feels that the requirements for certain topics are entirely unrealistic.
“My wife has more detailed knowledge than I have ever had. It seems that exam questions are designed by people who either do not have a clue about what is relevant, or people who make them difficult out of spite,” Breidablik roars.
He is also outraged by how his attempts are met by the Board of the Faculty of Medicine, which is responsible for medical examinations.
“I was sent on a wild goose chase through the system before I was finally advised to send Dean Stein Evensen an e–mail. He was impossible to get hold of over the phone. I received an insufficient and indignant response. It is unbelievable that the management of the University of Oslo (UiO) sends such a message. But at least they responded to my letter afterwards,” Breidablik says.
However, Breidablik was not satisfied with the response to the complaint, which he describes as “insufficient” and “a total disclaim of responsibility”.
“Correctly and Politely”
Exam questions are currently classified. The reason behind this is to avoid detailed tactical revision for the exam, which is multiple–choice, where questions are repeated year–over–year. At the same time, the result is that the level of difficulty can be hard to assess by the public.
“The Faculty is considering a large database of questions, which would open for the possibility of publishing exam questions after each exam,” Evensen confirms.
Since the complaint has now been transferred to the central Board of Examiners, Evensen does not wish to comment on details. However, he is unfamiliar with Breidablik`s side of the story.
“I can see why he is disenchanted on account of his wife, but my position is just to be able to explain how the situation is. The Faculty of Medicine has acted correctly and politely in this matter,” Evensen says.
