150 people attended our general meeting. Many thanks to all participants.
Member registration
50% voted yes that our association should be for all foreign health professionals, and 50% voted no. We have therefore raised the issue at the general meeting. Many believe that it is a good idea to expand, as we are stronger as a larger association and can more easily achieve our goals. However, a smaller group thinks that it can be difficult to mix different cultures. One member came up with a good idea: Let's wait and grow as an association first. We can always invite other cultures in later, when we are stronger. The majority supports this solution. It is possible to do this later, as the name of the association has changed and is no longer only aimed at Iranians.
The majority has voted that our association should be called ´´Association of Foreign Health Professionals in Denmark´´ and this has been approved.
We have talked about having 500 members (and more now), but only 262 have registered via the website. We encourage everyone to register on the website, as we want to use it as our primary communication channel in the long term.
We have talked about expanding our association geographically, as many of our members live in different regions and cities. We therefore need local representatives who can take responsibility for arranging network meetings, inviting relevant people with influence on the future, and hosting workshops, etc.
There is almost 20,000 kr. in the account and the money is growing. We have also presented an account of where we have spent money. Money has been spent on mobile pay fees, and catering on the network day on. 16/5, and catering for the general meeting
Election of board members:
Vote goes with: Inas shukri For person
Farveh Motallebi, Baran Hosseini, Masoumeh Nezhadi, Maryam Sedif, Elaheh Amini, Maryam Daryani. Farid Ataeii, Masoumeh Eftekhari
Maryam Moeini (treasurer)
Representatives from other parts of the country: Atousa Masoudi, Seyyed Mohammad Ali Fazayel, Fariba Hasani, Asiyeh Salami, Mahmoud Ghasemy, Tahmineh Sajjadi, Zeinab Ghorbani, Saeid Alizadeh
Nationwide structure
The association is growing, and many members live outside the capital area. Local representatives are needed to arrange network meetings, invite relevant speakers and plan workshops.
Presentations by the guests
Susanne Due Christiansen, member of the Regional Council and responsible for recruitment and permanent employment in the Capital Region, gave an important presentation on the challenges and efforts in relation to foreign health professionals. She highlighted that the Capital Region is the region in Denmark that has had the most evaluation appointments. In the period 2021–2022, 160 evaluation positions were created, and in 2023–2024, 113 of these nurses were permanently employed, while 30 are still in their evaluation process.
However, Susanne emphasized that it is resource-intensive for the departments to have evaluation employees because they do not count towards the quota and at the same time require extra support, sparring and mentoring. The region has previously experienced great pressure from the number of applications, but has now created a central job bank, which is intended to make it easier for departments to find candidates and hold interviews.
The Capital Region has also developed competency cards and competency courses for nurses in evaluation positions, as well as courses and language training in health Danish. Active work is being done to strengthen cooperation with the municipalities and create more evaluation positions there – but it is a long process, and the economy is a major challenge.
Trine Schaltz emphasized how important it is to stand together in a community with others who are in the same situation. An organized association gives foreign health professionals a common voice and the opportunity to work politically for better conditions. She encouraged the association to think strategically and find solutions that can benefit members throughout the country.
Stinus Lindgreen from the Danish Parliament expressed the paradox that Denmark lacks health professionals, while at the same time well-qualified foreign health professionals are not given the opportunity to contribute their knowledge. He criticized that the authorization process can take up to 5½ years and called it crazy that it is so slow when there is such a great need.
Stinus acknowledged that funds were allocated in 2023 to solve the problems, but that it has not been enough. He pointed out that there is a need, both from a political and regional level, to secure more evaluation positions in all regions. It is necessary to draw up a concrete plan for how the skills of foreign health professionals can be used so that they do not go to waste.
Harun Demirtas from the Danish Nurses' Council expressed great joy at the establishment of the association and mentioned that he had previously tried to support Iranian nurses, but that it had been difficult to navigate without a unified organization. He stressed the importance of nurses learning Danish quickly, as it is crucial for communication with patients, relatives and colleagues. He acknowledged the major challenges in finding evaluation positions and expressed hope that the government would act soon.
Harun mentioned that the Danish Nurses' Council (DSR) has raised the issue of the short three-year stay and suggested that the period should be extended. A new agreement between FOA and KL offers the opportunity to work as a social and health worker (SOSU) to extend your stay while improving your language skills. However, DSR does not believe that the solution is to give nurses student wages during the evaluation process – instead, the government should take responsibility and ensure sufficient funding.
An important proposal was presented to include an onboarding process for foreign healthcare professionals while they are already learning Danish. The idea is that competence development and teaching in Danish for healthcare should not start after employment in hospitals, but rather be integrated in parallel with the language school courses. In this way, candidates can achieve better professional and linguistic preparation even before they apply for evaluation positions.
All speakers expressed strong support for the proposal and indicated that they will work to realize it. In addition, it was argued that the PD3 exam should be held four times a year, so that the process can be accelerated and adapted to the needs of foreign healthcare professionals. Although it is not within the speakers' area of responsibility, they agreed with the necessity and will support the initiative.
Questions and answers
Nurses
Several questions were raised about the challenges that foreign nurses face on their path to authorization. One participant pointed out that three years is not enough to learn Danish, pass PD3 and find evaluation positions, while also having to support themselves and any family. Many experience stress and pressure along the way, and the quality of language teaching varies greatly from school to school.
In continuation of this, it was proposed that nurses in evaluation positions could receive student wages, to make it financially possible to complete the course. It was emphasized that many would rather be employed with a lower salary as nurses than work in assistant positions or be expelled because they do not have time to obtain authorization in time.
Harun from DSR expressed understanding and explained that DSR has proposed an extension of the residence permit. However, he emphasized that the Danish Nurses' Association does not support the idea that nurses should be employed at a lower salary, but instead believes that the government has a responsibility to ensure the necessary financial framework. Susanne from the Capital Region of Denmark added that the region has not received additional funds to create evaluation positions, but has nevertheless chosen to prioritize the area.
Doctors
Questions were also asked about the conditions of foreign doctors. Inas asked why only four doctors have been hired through the job bank since January, and how the recruitment of foreign doctors is actually taking place. The region's response was that it is generally difficult to find vacant specialist positions – both for Danish and foreign doctors – but that a fast track system has been set up to improve the process. However, they acknowledged that the recruitment effort is not yet sufficient.
It was highlighted that many doctors have sent up to 200 applications without receiving a response, and that they are also struggling with expiring visas. It was called for meetings to be held with representatives from the Danish Parliament, regions and the Danish Medical Association to find sustainable solutions. Another question concerned the possibility of evaluation appointments in general practice. Here the answer was that this is only recommended if the doctor already has experience in general practice.
Stinus concluded by emphasizing that it is politically necessary to act, and that it is pointless not to utilize the many competent doctors who are already in the country.