To get authorization and employment as a staff consultant or chief specialist in Denmark, you need to:
- Fulfill the training standards of the appropriate articles of Council directive 2005/36/EF.
- Have Danish language as well, in terms of cooperation with patients and colleagues.
- Have an education matching the Danish model: The Danish model of medical education consists of 6 years of general medical training, which provides the MD degree, one year basic clinical training and a specialist training which usually takes between 4 and 7 years. The basic clinical training includes working at two of the following places: a medical department, a surgical department, a psychiatric department and a general medical practice. At each place you have to work for 6 months.
Medicolink will assist you in getting your previous education and training acknowledged in Denmark.
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If you are interested in working as a psychiatrist in Denmark / Scandinavia, Medicolink finds it relevant for you to become acquainted with the following information, prior to your recruitment process.
General info on the danish healthcare system
Healthcare service in Denmark is almost exclusively covered publicly, financed by the five regions. The health services are organized into a primary healthcare sector (GPs and private practicing specialist doctors) and a secondary healthcare sector (hospitals and outpatient units), i.e. the GPs function as gatekeepers for the hospitals and specialist doctors. There are a number of private clinics, but the highest proportion of patients are treated in the public institutions.
Psychiatry in Denmark
The weekly working hours for psychiatrists are 37 hours and the average salary is about minimum 113 000 EUR yearly (including pension benefits).
The psychiatric outpatient treatment in Denmark is divided between the psychiatric departments of the bigger hospitals, community psychiatric clinics and local psychiatric units managed by the 5 Regions. There is a main hospital in every region and there are four university hospitals in the country: Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense and Aalborg. Besides the big hospitals, the psychiatric treatment is performed at community psychiatric units. Psychiatrists often work within teams that consist of the psychiatrist, a psychologist, a nurse and possibly a social worker. The management structure is partially different from other countries. The staff specialist or the chief physician is responsible for the treatment, but the cooperation with the other professionals is much less hierarchical. The nurses play a very important role in the treatment; they serve as continuity figures throughout the process. They undergo a 3,5 year training, which endows them high professional knowledge and the ability to take higher responsibilities than they would have elsewhere.
Societies for psychiatrists
DPS: Danish Psychiatric Society is an association for psychiatrists in Denmark. The association seeks to educate their members further and to support academic research. They also want to increase the public’s knowledge on psychiatry.