During a meeting at the Health Ministry, representatives of the medical and student communities opposed the shortening of postgraduate internships, pointing to their crucial importance for patient safety. However, the Health Ministry argues that the proposed changes will increase the practical dimension of training and improve the availability of services.
Dispute over postgraduate internship. Doctors against shortening, ministry defends proposal
Published Feb. 16, 2026 08:03
Fot. Jacek Sielski
On February 13, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Health to discuss amendments to the draft amendment to the Law on the Exercise of the Profession of Physician and Dentist. The talks were attended by representatives of the Ministry, the Medical Council, resident physicians and the student community. The meeting was hosted by Deputy Minister of Health Katarzyna Kęcka and Director of the Department of Medical Personnel Development Prof. Mariusz Klencki. The talks concerned, among other things, the reform of postgraduate internship, simplified access to practice for non-EU doctors, and changes in the system of professional responsibility of doctors.
Unified opposition of the environment to the reduction of seniority
Representatives of the doctors' and dentists' self-government, resident doctors and medical students stressed their unified opposition to shortening or abolishing postgraduate internship. In their view, this stage is crucial for patient safety and the quality of education. Data presented at the meeting showed that:
- Only 18.6 percent of sixth-year students report being able to catheterize independently, compared to 79.2 percent after the internship;
- 82 percent of students oppose shortening or eliminating their internships;
- Eighty-five percent do not feel sufficiently prepared to ensure patient safety after graduation.
It also stressed that the "practical training year" is in place in 87 percent of the countries surveyed, and in 39 percent it lasts more than a year, and that eliminating or reducing the internship to six months is not the right direction for change.
Position of the Ministry of Health
The Health Ministry stresses that the purpose of the changes is to improve the quality of education and the availability of services. Deputy Minister Katarzyna Kęcka said that more practice in medical education is one of the reasons for the amendments to the Law on the Profession of Physician and Dentist. The changes will strengthen smaller centers and improve patient safety nationwide. - We have been discussing them with the medical community from the beginning, she stressed.
The director of the Department of Medical Personnel Development, Prof. Mariusz Klencki, said that the Health Ministry is working on an amendment to the Law on the Exercise of the Profession of Physician and Dentist. - This meeting is to be a space for exchanging views and reasons for the proposed changes. The amendment to the law is a broad document. There will be public consultations, while today we want to focus on those issues that raise doubts and misunderstandings. One of them is the issue of changing the period of postgraduate internship," he explained.
Postgraduate internship - 6 or 13 months?
The bill proposes to shorten the postgraduate internship of doctors from 13 to six months and of dentists from 12 to six months. The argument for the change is to increase the practical dimension of pre-graduate training - according to the ministry, the current internship program duplicates the effects achieved in the sixth year of study. Rectors representing the Conference of Rectors of Academic Medical Universities supported the changes. Prof. Leszek Domanski, rector of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, pointed out:
- Shortening postgraduate internship for doctors in no way reduces the quality of preparation for their profession. Moreover, given the reform of the education system and the new standards, as well as the fact that the VI year is a fully practical year and will be completed with a standardized practical exam (OSCE) - this prolonged period of postgraduate training takes away the opportunity for young doctors and physicians to complete their residency tasks earlier. A shorter internship is a small step toward a modern, European model of medical education (...)
Further consultations
Patient Ombudsman Bartlomiej Chmielowiec stressed that the quality of education, not the length of the internship itself, is key:
- This is the beginning of the discussion, the key is the issue of practice and the quality of education. (...) We all want to act for the benefit of patients. I think it will be possible to find an optimal solution for everyone.
According to the proposal of Deputy Minister Katherine Kęcka, the meetings are to be cyclical in nature, so as to work out solutions to ensure the high quality of medical education and patient safety.
Source: MZ/OZZL Residents' Agreement
