However, recognition procedures can be complicated and long-winded and the experiences of the health professionals who contributed to this chapter varied enormously in this respect.
Language & Culture
There are a number of issues which health professionals who are thinking of working in Spain should consider carefully before they attempt the practicalities of official recognition and validation of their qualifications. Not only will you have a different language to contend with, but you will also encounter significant cultural differences, which may make it more difficult to practise your profession in Spain than in your home country. Amongst health professionals, midwives seem to be the group that notices the cultural differences between Spain and other European countries most keenly. You cannot afford to underestimate the importance of these differences, even if you’re planning to work in an area with a large number of English-speaking expatriates.
According to EU regulations, member states cannot discriminate against you on the basis of language. However, the European Commission has stated that anyone wanting to pursue their profession in another member state should “possess the linguistic knowledge necessary to do so”. According to a recent article in the British Medical Journal, language barriers are one of the main reasons why more doctors don’t choose to work in Mediterranean countries such as Spain. It’s highly unlikely that English will be spoken by the majority of your Spanish patients.
Unless the area you want to work in has a large expatriate population, you will need a fairly advanced command of the language, with the relevant specialist vocabulary. Even if you opt for an area where English is frequently spoken by your patients and colleagues, don’t forget that you may still have deal with Spanish health professionals who may not be able to speak English – for example, if you need to refer a patient to another specialist.
Medics Travel is a company that was set up by a doctor, Mark Wilson, to help doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and other health professionals to arrange work opportunities overseas. Its website (www.medicstravel.co.uk ) contains contact details for professional medical associations in Spain, as well as the main medical schools and their hospitals all over the mainland and the Spanish islands.
Recognition of Qualifications
Until your qualifications are officially recognised by the relevant authority, you cannot practise your profession in Spain. The procedure can take several months, so it’s best to set things in motion as soon as possible. There are two categories of EU Directive which affect the recognition and validation process for health professionals: Sectoral Directives and the General Directives.
Sectoral Directives
Professions regulated under the Sectoral Directive system include doctors and specialist doctors ( médicos y médicos especialistas), general nurses ( enfermeros responsable de cuidados generales), midwives ( matronas), dentists ( odontólogos) and pharmacists ( farmacéuticos). Qualifications in these professions are automatically recognised, as the required training is similar throughout the EU.
Nevertheless, you must still have your qualifications validated and register with the relevant professional body. In theory, if your profession comes under a Sectoral Directive, the validation process should be simple and quick. In practice, experiences of validation procedures vary wildly. One Scottish dentist had his qualifications authorised without problems in a few weeks, while an experienced community midwife had endless complications and waited 18 months for hers to be validated. As in all matters connected with Spanish bureaucracy, patience is essential.
General Directives
Professions regulated under the General Directive system include physiotherapists ( fisioterapeutas), opticians ( ópticos), chiropodists ( podólogos), psychologists ( psicólogos), occupational therapists ( terapeutas ocupacionales) and speech therapists ( logopedas). The full list can be found on the website of the Ministry for Education, Sport and Culture.
Recognition and validation under this system is more complicated than under the Sectoral Directive system because these professions aren’t automatically recognised. A European Working Party is currently trying to minimise the paperwork and duration of validation periods, but no progress has yet been made in this direction.
If your profession is regulated under the General system, the competent authority will have to examine the kind of training you’ve had and check that the duration and content is as close as possible to those required for the same profession in Spain.
This article is an extract from Making a Living in Spain. Click here to get a copy now.