Health professional requisites

Health professional requisites refer to the regulations used by countries to control the quality of health workers practicing in their jurisdictions and to control the size of the health labour market. They include licensure, certification and proof of minimum training for regulated health professions.

In the health care system, a health professional who offers medical, nursing or other types of health care services is required to meet specific requisites put into effect by laws governing health care practices. The number of professions subject to regulation, the requisites for an individual to receive professional licensure or certification, the scope of practice that is permitted for the individual to perform, and the nature of sanctions that can be imposed for failure to comply vary across jurisdictions.

Most countries have credentialing staff in regulatory boards or health departments who document the certification or licensing of health workers and their work history. The processes for professional certification and licensure vary across professions and countries. Certification to practise a profession usually does not need to be renewed, while a licence usually needs to be periodically renewed based on certain criteria such as passing a renewal exam, demonstrating continuing learning, being employed in the field or simply paying a fee. Most health care industry employers publish the specific requisites for persons seeking employment by means of job boards, ads and solicitations for employment. Practicing health care without the appropriate license is generally a crime.

Most countries require individuals to demonstrate proof of graduation from a recognized medical school, such as one meeting the quality assurance standards of the World Federation of Medical Education, as requisite to obtain professional certification for practice as a physician or physician assistant.

In the United States, once obtaining the appropriate medical degree, physicians can apply to attain licensure via Board certification.

In India, practitioners of both modern medicine and traditional medicine are subject to professional regulation. Doctors are regulated by the Medical Council of India, while practitioners of Ayurved, Siddha and Unani medicine are regulated by the Central Council of Indian Medicine.

Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses (or the equivalent national titles, e.g. enrolled nurses) must typically complete nursing school and pass a national examination in order to obtain their license. For example, in the United States, nurses must pass the National Council Licensure EXamination (NCLEX). They must then obtain a nursing license by applying to appropriate board of nursing. In Uganda, nurses must complete a Bachelor of Science or other diploma in nursing recognized by the Nurses and Midwives Council and pass national qualifying examinations; several years of work experience in a hospital or other health unit is further required in order to be eligible for a licence to engage in private practice.

The legal requisites as well as scope of practice for nurses (and also midwives and nurse midwives) vary across countries. For instance, in some countries nurses are trained and authorized to provide emergency childbirth care, including administration of oxytocins and newborn resuscitation, whereas in other countries these clinical functions are only authorized for physicians.