Department of Health Care Management, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, 10623, Berlin, Germany.
European Observatory On Health Systems and Policies, Place Victor Horta 10/30, 1060, Brussels, Belgium.
Hum Resour Health. 2021 Jul 10;19(1):80. doi: 10.1186/s12960-021-00624-w.
In the European free movement zone, various mechanisms aim to harmonize how the competence of physicians and nurses is developed and maintained to facilitate the cross-country movement of professionals. This commentary addresses these mechanisms and discusses their implications during the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing lessons for future policy. It argues that EU-wide regulatory mechanisms should be reviewed to ensure that they provide an adequate foundation for determining competence and enabling health workforce flexibility during health system shocks. Currently, EU regulation focuses on the automatic recognition of the primary education of physicians and nurses. New, flexible mechanisms should be developed for specializations, such as intensive or emergency care. Documenting new skills, such as the ones acquired during rapid training in the pandemic, in a manner that is comparable across countries should be explored, both for usual practice and in light of outbreak preparedness. Initiatives to strengthen continuing education and professional development should be supported further. Funding under the EU4Health programme should be dedicated to this endeavour, along with revisiting the scope of necessary skills following the experience of COVID-19. Mechanisms for cross-country sharing of information on violations of good practice standards should be maintained and strengthened to enable agile reactions when the need for professional mobility becomes urgent.
在欧洲自由流动区内，各种机制旨在协调医师和护士的能力发展和维持方式，以促进专业人员跨国流动。本评论探讨了这些机制，并讨论了它们在 COVID-19 大流行期间的影响，为未来的政策提供了经验教训。它认为，应该审查欧盟范围内的监管机制，以确保它们为确定能力和在卫生系统冲击期间实现卫生劳动力灵活性提供充分的基础。目前，欧盟法规侧重于自动承认医生和护士的基础教育。应制定新的、灵活的机制，用于专科培训，例如重症或急救护理。应探索以国家间可比的方式记录新技能，例如在大流行期间快速培训中获得的技能，不仅用于常规实践，而且为了暴发准备。应进一步支持加强继续教育和专业发展的举措。欧盟 4 健康计划下的资金应专门用于这一努力，并在 COVID-19 之后重新审视必要技能的范围。应维护和加强跨国共享违反良好实践标准信息的机制，以便在需要专业流动时能够迅速做出反应。
