The government has announced a change in procedures for new healthcare professionals, removing a step that until now went through the Professional Orders. According to the official version, after completing their professional practice, candidates will be able to sit the State Exam directly.
What changes in practice
The newly announced change provides that doctors, nurses and other new healthcare professionals will no longer be required to go through intermediate evaluation procedures by the Professional Orders before entering the State Exam.
In essence, the government is presenting the measure as a shortening of the bureaucratic chain that followed the completion of professional practice. This means the path to licensing moves more quickly to the final exam, without the prior stop at the relevant professional structures.
The announcement came from Rama, not from a detailed institutional clarification
The news was made public by Prime Minister Edi Rama through a post on social media, where he announced the approval of a joint act between the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Education.
At this stage, the public announcement has been articulated mainly in political and presentational language, while broader details have not been made public on the concrete method of implementation, the deadlines, or the administrative effects this change will have on the Professional Orders.
Those already waiting will also benefit
According to the prime minister, this move will not benefit only those who complete their practice from now on, but also professionals who have already completed their professional practice and have remained waiting for evaluation procedures by the Professional Orders.
This is the element with the most immediate impact, as it affects a group that, according to the official announcement, is currently waiting and is being held back by the existing procedures.
The government speaks of “optimization,” but questions remain about standards
Rama presented the decision as part of an effort to “optimize evaluation mechanisms,” claiming that professional quality is preserved and procedural duplication is avoided.
However, the more intermediate filters are reduced, the more important transparency becomes regarding how the assessment standard is guaranteed. So far, the government has emphasized easing the procedure, but not with the same level of detail on the balance between acceleration and professional oversight.
The change aims to shorten the time it takes for new professionals to enter the healthcare system, moving directly from practice to the State Exam.
What remains to be seen is how the joint act will be implemented in concrete terms and what weight the professional structures that until now carried out the intermediate evaluation step will have after this decision.