Health Ministry to abolish need for returning Israeli medical students to take practical test

At present, graduates of foreign medical schools who are interested in starting an internship here have to undergo a state exam.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Health Minister Yael German 370 (photo credit: Judy Siegel-Itzkovich)
Health Minister Yael German 370
(photo credit: Judy Siegel-Itzkovich)
The Health Ministry has decided that Israelis studying medicine in the US are to get an exemption from the practical exam that has until now required them to travel abroad. The ministry on Monday sent to the Knesset Labor, Social Welfare and Health Committee a bill for amending regulations on this subject.
At present, graduates of foreign medical schools who are interested in starting an internship here have to undergo a state exam. In May, the Health Ministry prepared an amendment in the regulations according to which those who studied medicine abroad and passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination would receive an exemption from the state test.
The USMLE has three stages. The bill requires students to pass the first two stages. The second stage consists of a theoretical and a practical test. Because the practical exam is held in the US, students had to make the expensive visit to the US to take it.
Health Minister Yael German and director-general Prof. Ronni Gamzu have decided that it is no longer to be necessary to take the state test if successful on the USMLE exam.