More than 50 Ukrainian doctors are banned from practicing in Portugal. These doctors, who are mostly women, have fled the war in Ukraine. They take refuge for their safety in Portugal, but the Government has not allowed them to practice their profession due to the language barrier.
Ukrainian Doctors Not Allowed To Practice
50 doctors have fled the ongoing war in Ukraine to have a better future in Portugal. They wish to relocate permanently to Portugal and start a new life by becoming doctors in this country. However, the Government has denied them permission to practice due to a language barrier. These doctors speak the Ukrainian language fluently and they are poor at speaking Portuguese.
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The Government clearly stated that these refugee doctors are not restricted due to their professionalism. It is only a matter of language that these doctors lack. The President of the Portuguese Order for Physicians believes that the Government did not provide the opportunity for these doctors as they should have. There was a lack of interest from the officials which is why these doctors are now suffering in Portugal without a job. A proposal was sent by the Portuguese Order, but it was not approved by the Government. He stated:
[The Portuguese Order was] willing to postpone the communication test in Portuguese, facilitating their integration into the health service under the status of a doctor without autonomy.
Portuguese Order Appeals For Help
The Portuguese Order has appealed to the Ministry of Health to look into this matter. They believe that the Government should not only help the doctors of Ukraine, but also any foreign doctors who have settled in Portugal. All the doctors who are being held by the language barrier should be facilitated to work in the country. The government currently lacks the strength of doctors in hospitals. It is reported that SNS (State Health Service) requires at least 50 more doctors.
The government of Portugal can help these Ukrainian doctors to set up support programs. These programs can help them to learn the Portuguese language while they do their practice in hospitals. The SNS service in Portugal is currently facing a shortage of doctors. This void can be filled by instating these Ukrainian doctors.
Most of these Ukrainian doctors fled their country when Russia invaded the cities of Ukraine. These doctors chose Portugal as a safe space to live their future lives, away from the war. The refugee doctors are trying to learn Portuguese on their own time but without any proper resources, it is difficult to learn. These doctors have even given their medical exams to get their medical degrees. The exam was difficult due to their lack of command in Portuguese which is why only a few passed it. One of the doctors stated:
[The exam had] a very high level of knowledge of Portuguese. [Which is why] Only six or seven passed.
Urgent Jobs Required For Ukrainian Refugees
Most of the Ukrainian doctors who fled their country are now working at various shops to earn. They are also learning Portuguese alongside their working hours to pass the medical exam. Some local councils and hospitals are working together to help these doctors earn their livelihood through their doctorate degrees.
Many of them are working hard to pass their exam as all of them will be reappearing for medical exams on Monday. Some of these refugees believe that learning Portuguese has caused them to lose their grip on the English language. This has impacted them from accepting other job opportunities.
Doctors have to remain updated all the time. This is why some of these doctors manage to get some information through online courses. Regardless of that, it is a struggle for these doctors to get back to their practices in hospitals. Some of the doctors explain that their other colleagues who escaped the country to Germany or other European countries have received jobs. Their colleagues have started to work as general practitioners in the emergency rooms. The Government has ensured that the only delay is the language barrier. These doctors hope that in the future, this issue can be resolved very soon. Carlos Cortes, the government representative stated:
We want to enroll these doctors because the information we have is that the quality of medical training in Ukraine is good. There are no restrictions on that.
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