Authorisation of health sciences studies in the EEA
The countries within the EU/EEA have agreed to harmonise five types of health sciences studies. This means that the countries have agreed on what these programmes of education must contain, thereby making it easier to obtain authorisation in other EU/EEA countries.
The harmonised healthcare professions are:
- doctor
- dentist
- nurse
- midwife
- pharmacist/prescribing pharmacist
If you wish to study one of these programmes abroad with support from Lånekassen, the place of study must be in an EU/EEA-country, Switzerland, Canada, USA, The United Kingdom, New Zealand or Australia.
If you are completing one of these programmes of education and the education entitles you to authorisation in the country of study, you can be reasonably certain that you will be able to obtain authorisation in Norway. If you are completing an programme of education other than the five harmonised programmes, the Norwegian Directorate of Health will consider your education compared to equivalent education in Norway. The Norwegian Directorate of Health will consider whether the level, contents, scope and any degree of integrated placements in the foreign programme of education are consistent with the equivalent education in Norway.
The Norwegian Directorate of Health has made a short video clip explaining these rules. Click here to see it on YouTube.
Authorisation of health sciences studies outside of the EEA
It is harder to obtain authorisation if you complete your studies outside of the EU/EEA. In this case, the Norwegian Directorate of Health will compare the foreign programme of education with the equivalent education in Norway with regard to level, contents and scope and will review, among other things:
- detailed course plans
- learning objectives
- ECTS/Credits or number of hours for each subject
- information about clinical placements and a range of other information
You will also need to complete a course in how the Norwegian healthcare system works. For some professions, you will also need to complete a practical course test and a course in medication management.
The Norwegian Directorate of Health requires detailed documentation about your programme of education in order to consider whether or not you may obtain authorisation. It is therefore important that you retain any documentation throughout your programme of education.