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Vol. 8, Issue 6

Volume 8, Issue 6

Pages 65–76

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ORIGINAL
CPDCERTIFICATION

Procedure for Certification of Stomatologists (Dentists) and Maxillofacial Surgeons in Ukraine as of 2024: Analysis of General Provisions and Provisions on Certification Commissions

Ievgen I. Fesenkoa, ... Tetiana Zhdanovac more
a Ievgen I. Fesenko

Doctor Stomatologist-Surgeon (DSS), PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kyiv Medical University, Private Higher Educational Establishment, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8901-1632. Correspondence: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Kyiv Medical University, Private Higher Educational Establishment, Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No 12, Public (Communal) Non-profit Enterprise, 4A Profesora Pidvysotskoho Street, office 619, Kyiv 01103, Ukraine. E-mail: y.fesenko@kmu.edu.ua (Ievgen Fesenko)

b Olena Patalakha

Doctor-Stomatologist-Orthodontist (DSO), PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Prosthodontics and Orthodontics, Kyiv Medical University, Private Higher Educational Establishment, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2549-3230

c Tetiana Zhdanova

Doctor-Stomatologist-Orthodontist (DSO), Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatric Terapeutic Dentistry, Kyiv Medical University, Private Higher Educational Establishment, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1915-7708

June 30, 2024

J Diagn Treat Oral Maxillofac Pathol 2024;8: 65–76.

DOI: 10.23999/j.dtomp.2024.6.1

Under a Creative Commons license

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE

Fesenko II, Patalakha O, Zhdanova T. Procedure for certification of stomatologists (dentists) and maxillofacial surgeons in Ukraine as of 2024: analysis of general provisions and provisions on certification commissions. J Diagn Treat Oral Maxillofac Pathol. 2024 Jun;8(6):65–76. https://doi.org/10.23999/j.dtomp.2024.6.1 

National Repository of Academic Texts

https://nrat.ukrintei.ua/en/searchdoc/2024U000064/ (in English)

ABSTRACT. ABSTRACT IN UKRAINIAN (PDF).

Each country has different legislative features of continuing professional development (CPD) of doctors and corresponding state сertification. The purpose of this paper is to highlight and to make the quick analysis of two aspects of the Procedure for Certification of Stomatologists and Maxillofacial Surgeons of the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine dated February 22, 2019, No. 446 (as amended by the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine dated August 18, 2021, No. 1753). First aspect is General Provisions of the Procedure for Certification of Doctors and second ascpect is Provision on Certification Commissions. The General Provisions include seven clauses, and the Provisions on Certification Commissions include 11 detailed clauses. Clauses of the General Provisions include such topics as (1) the mechanism for the сertification of doctors, (2) tasks of conducting certification, (3) terminology, (4) types of certifications, (5) the List of medical positions in health care institutions, according to which certification is carried out, (6) the main place of work and part-time work during the certification, and (7) deadlines for submitting documents for the next voluntary certification. Clauses of the Provisions on Certification Commissions include information about (1) state bodies under which certification commissions are created, (2) the procedure for approving the personal composition of the certification commission, (3) composition of the Central Certification Commission, (4) composition of the certification commissions and its subcommittees, (5) the periodicity of renewal is not less than 1/3 of the composition of certification commissions, (6) quantitative composition of certification commissions at their meetings, (7) frequency of meetings of certification commissions, (8) the decision-making mechanism of commissions, (9) functions of the Central Certification Commission, (10) list of doctors certified by the Central Certification Commission, and (11) places of certification of doctors working in health care institutions that are part of the management of central executive bodies, other bodies where relevant certification commissions have been established. This certification procedure in Ukraine applies to doctors of all eight stomatological (dental) specialties, namely (1) doctors-stomatologists, (2)pediatric-doctors-stomatologists, (3) doctors-stomatologists-orthodontists, (4) doctors-stomatologists-prosthodontists, (5) doctors-stomatologists-periodontists, (6) doctors-stomatologists-therapists, (7) doctors-stomatologists-surgeons, and (8) maxillofacial surgeons (also known as maxillofacial doctors-stomatologists). Certificate of assignment of a higher qualification category to a doctor-stomatologist-surgeon in the specialty “Surgical Stomatology” (also known as “Oral Surgery”) has been added to the article for clarity. This article provides a detailed analysis of the translation of the General Provisions and the Provisions on Certification Commissions as two basic parts of the Procedure for the certification of doctors in Ukraine.

KEY WORDS

Continuing professional development (CPD); procedure for certification of doctors; certification commissions; stomatologists; dentists; maxillofacial surgeons; stomatological (dental) specialties

1. INTRODUCTION

Checking the level of theoretical and practical skills acquired by a doctor during her/his/their continuing professional development (CPD) [1–3] is an element of the medical and stomatological (dental) legislation of the modern Ukrainian state [4]. In the conditions of synchronization of medical legislation of various countries of the European Union (EU), candidate countries for membership in the EU and candidate countries that have opened accession negotiations for the EU, it is extremely important to cover the mechanisms of certification of doctors in these countries in the English language.

 

In Ukraine, according to the List of Professionals in the Field of “Stomatology” as of June 2024 [5], doctors of eight stomatological specialties are legally recognized, namely:

 

  1. doctors-stomatologists.

  2. pediatric doctors-stomatologists.

  3. doctors-stomatologists-orthodontists.

  4. doctors-stomatologists-prosthodontists.

  5. doctors-stomatologists-periodontists.

  6. doctors-stomatologists-therapists.

  7. doctors-stomatologists-surgeons.

  8. maxillofacial surgeons (also known as maxillofacial doctors-stomatologists) [6, 7].

The purpose of this paper is to highlight and to make the quick analysis of two aspects of the Procedure for Certification of Stomatologists and Maxillofacial Surgeons of the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine dated February 22, 2019, No. 446 (as amended by the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine dated August 18, 2021, No. 1753) [4]. First aspect is general provisions of the Procedure for Certification of Doctors and second ascpect is provisions on certification commissions.

2. LEGISLATION

2.1 Legislation

 

For the legal regulation of the certification of stomatologists and maxillofacial surgeons in Ukraine as of June 5, 2024, the below mentioned order serves.

 

2.2 Valid

 

  1. Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine of February 22, 2019, No. 446 “Some Issues of CPD of Doctors” (as amended by Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine of August 18, 2021, No. 1753) [4]. Order No. 446 with changes introduced in accordance with the Orders of the Ministry of Healthcare:

1.1. No. 1106 dated 12.05.2020.

1.2. No. 74 dated 19.01.2021.

1.3. No. 1753 dated 18.08.2021.

1.4. No. 520 dated 24.03.2022.

1.5. No. 1640 dated 09.09.2022.

1.6. No. 1555 dated 31.08.2023.

 

  • “The Procedure for the Certification of Doctors” approved by the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine dated February 22, 2019, No. 446 (as amended by the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine dated August 18, 2021, No. 1753) [4].

3. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND CERTIFICATION COMMISSIONS

This section provides a verbatim translation from Ukrainian (Fig 1) to the English language of two provisions from the Procedure for Certification of Doctors from the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine of February 22, 2019, No. 446 [4]. Since the specialists of all eight stomatological specialties are doctors, these provisions apply to both stomatologists and maxillofacial surgeons.

FIGURE 1A. Procedure for certification of doctors (A, B) in Ukrainian language: General provisions and the provisions on certification commissions [4].

FIGURE 1B. Procedure for certification of doctors (A, B) in Ukrainian language: General provisions and the provisions on certification commissions [4].

I. General Provisions [4]

 

  1. This Procedure defines the mechanism of certification of doctors for the purpose of checking the level of theoretical and practical skills acquired by a doctor during her/his/their CPD. The certification of doctors is aimed at improving the professional activity of a doctor in order to further increase the level of quality of providing medical care to the population.

  2. The main tasks of the certification of doctors are the evaluation of doctors' fulfillment of the requirements for improving their qualifications and undergoing CPD in accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated March 28, 2018 No. 302 “On Approval of the Regulation on the System of CPD of Specialists in the Field of Healthcare.”

  3. In this Procedure, the terms are used in the meanings given in the Law of Ukraine “Basics of the Legislation of Ukraine on Healthcare,” the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education,” the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated March 28, 2018 No. 302 “On Approval of Regulations on the System CPD of Specialists in the Field of Health Care.”

  4. Types of certification of doctors: (1) Certification for assigning a qualification category. A sample of the qualification category assignment certificate is presented in Figure 2 and (2) Certification to confirm the qualification category.

  5. Certification of doctors for assignment or confirmation of a qualification category is carried out according to the List of medical positions in health care institutions, approved by order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine dated October 28, 2002 No. 385, registered in the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on November 12, 2002 under No. 893 /7181 (as amended by the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine dated May 6, 2021 No. 884 and Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine dated February 1, 2022 No. 190) (hereinafter - List of medical positions [8]).

  6. Certification of doctors for the assignment or confirmation of a qualification category is carried out by specialty, both at the main place of work and part-time.

  7. Certification of doctors for assignment or confirmation of qualification categories is carried out at the request of the doctor. Doctors who, within a year after the end of the five-year period from the date of the previous certification, did not express a desire and did not submit documents for another certification and/or doctors who, by the decision of the certification commission, were refused certification or assignment (confirmation) of a qualification category, and/or doctors, who have not worked for more than three years in a specific medical specialty, cannot practice medicine in this specialty without resuming medical practice by completing an internship (or specialization courses) in accordance with Section V of this Procedure.

Doctors who have been assigned a qualification category undergo a certification to confirm it once every five years. At the request of the doctor, if there is work experience in the specialty in accordance with the requirements specified in paragraph 5 of section IV of this Procedure, and provided that the doctor demonstrates in his personal educational portfolio various types of activities in accordance with Appendix 4 of this Procedure and exceeds twice the minimum requirements for the number points of CPD for the year, certification for assigning the next qualification category can be carried out after a shorter period, but not earlier than one year from the date of the previous certification. In the case of extraordinary certification, the term of the next certification is set after five years.

FIGURE 2. Certificate of assignment of a qualification category in the specialty “Surgical Stomatology (Dentistry)” (also known as “Oral Surgery”). The certificate shows that Ievgen Fesenko underwent certification on April 30, 2021, at the certification commission under the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine. By Order of May 6, 2021, No. 885 according to the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, he was assigned a higher qualification category. The document is signed by the Head of the healthcare body and the Chairman of the Certification Commission. The certificate is valid until May 6, 2026. Certificate is in the Ukrainian language.

II. Certification Commissions [4]

 

  1. Certification for the assignment or confirmation of qualification categories is carried out by commissions established under the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine (Central Certification Commission), the Ministry of Healthcare of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the structural units on health care of regional state administrations, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations (hereinafter - certification commissions).

  2. By order of the head of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, the Ministry of Healthcare of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the structural units on health care of regional state administrations, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations (hereinafter - the health care body), in which certification commissions are created for assignment or confirmation qualification category, the personal composition of the certification commission is approved, the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Secretary are determined, as well as the regulations are approved. The certification commission is formed from subcommittees. Members of certification commissions are included in their composition on a voluntary basis.

  3. The Central Certification Commission may include employees of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, representatives of professional associations, employers' organizations and trade unions (with consent), members of expert groups of the Ministry of Healthcare (with consent).

  4. The certification commission and its subcommittees may include employees of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine, the Ministry of Healthcare of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the structural units on health care of regional state administrations, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations, as well as representatives of professional associations, employers' organizations and trade unions (by consent), managers of health care institutions (by consent), scientific and pedagogical staff of higher education institutions that train applicants in the specialties of the field of knowledge 22 “Health Care” (by consent), employees of scientific and research institutes (by consent).

  5. At least 1/3 of the composition of the certification commissions is updated every year.

  6. The form of work of certification commissions is a meeting. A meeting of the certification commission is authorized if at least 2/3 of its personnel participate in it.

  7. Meetings of certification commissions are held at least once a quarter in accordance with the annual schedule, which is approved before the beginning of the new calendar year by the health care body, under which the certification commissions were created. The schedule of meetings of certification commissions is posted on the official website of the health care authority under which the commissions were created. In the case of a change in the schedule of meetings of certification commissions, the secretary of the commission is obliged to notify persons undergoing certification about changes in the schedule no later than three working days before the date of the meeting, by sending the updated schedule to their e-mail addresses.

  8. Decisions are adopted by a simple majority of votes of the members of the certification commission present at the meeting by open voting and are formalized in the minutes (i.e., protocols) of the meeting, which are signed by the Chairman and the Secretary. In case of equal distribution of votes, the vote of the Chairman of the Certification Commission is decisive. Protocols and documents of doctors who are certified are stored for the periods determined by the provisions of the List of standard documents created during the activities of state bodies and local self-government bodies, other institutions, enterprises and organizations, with an indication of the storage periods of documents, approved by the order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine dated April 12 No. 578/5 of 2012, registered in the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on April 17, 2012 under No. 571/20884.

  9. Central Certification Commission: (1) Conducts certification of the heads of structural subdivisions on health care issues of the regional state administrations, Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations and their deputies, heads, their deputies of institutions and institutions of a medical and preventive profile, heads, their deputies, doctors of health care institutions that belong to the sphere of management of the Ministry of Healthcare, managers, their deputies of centers (bureaus) of medical and social expertise, doctors of medical and social expert commissions and doctors of enterprises, institutions, organizations of all forms of ownership, in accordance with the profile of clinical and medical and preventive work of (1) scientific and (2) scientific and pedagogical employees of institutions of higher medical education, institutions of postgraduate education, research medical institutions, who are admitted to medical practice in accordance with the procedure established by law, in accordance with this Procedure; (2) Resolves the issue of legalization of certificates of qualification categories issued outside of Ukraine; (3) Performs methodical management of the work of certification commissions.

  10. Certification commissions carry out certification: (1) Doctors of health care institutions and individual entrepreneurs (transliteration from Ukrainian, fizychni osoby-pidpryiemtsi [FOP]) (individual entrepreneurs can also be called as private entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, and physical persons-entrepreneurs) [9] who have received licenses for conducting business activities from medical practice, licenses for the activities of banks of umbilical cord blood, other tissues and human cells in accordance with the list approved by the Ministry of Healthcare; (2) Doctors employed by business entities registered in accordance with the established procedure as legal entities or individual entrepreneurs; (3) Doctors of a medical and preventive profile and doctors of institutions of social protection of the population on the territory of the corresponding administrative-territorial unit.

  11. Doctors who work in healthcare institutions that are part of the management of central executive bodies, other bodies where appropriate certification commissions have been established, undergo certification in such certification commissions in the event of their creation or in the Central Certification Commission in accordance with requirements of this Procedure.

4. DISCUSSION

In the General Provisions and Provisions on Certification Commissions [4], the information is laid out in a convenient form and, in principle, is well explained. But we consider it expedient to note the difference in the Ukrainian and English language terms and the problem of translation of these Provisions related to the certification of doctors in Ukraine. In the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine of February 22, 2019, No. 446 [4], the Ukrainian language of the text of the Order uses the words "attestation of doctors" (atestatsiia likariv [in Ukrainian]) not "certification of doctors." But English-language dictionaries [10–13] give such definitions to these words (Table 1) that it is appropriate to choose the combination of the words "certification of doctors" for the translation of the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine of February 22, 2019, No. 446 [4]. In English sources the term certification of dentists [14] is commonly uses.

TABLE 1. Comparison of the Terms Certification and Attestation in English Language Based on Cambridge and Merriam-Webster's dictionaries [10–13].

An interesting fact is that the certification commission and its subcommittees may include employees representing professional associations. But since professional non-profit organizations (hromadski orhanizatsii [in Ukrainian]) in Ukraine can be both associations and societies, the question remains whether employees representing professional societies can also be members of the certification commission and its subcommittee. This is especially important to understand before starting such a professional non-profit organization, as it can give a corresponding advantage in the form of the inclusion of its employees in the certification commission.

 

It should be noted that the main tasks of the certification of stomatologists in Ukraine are the evaluation of doctors' fulfillment of the requirements for improving their qualifications and undergoing CPD [1–3]. The CPD of dentists remains an extremely important direction in English-language literature [15] and requires further coverage of Ukrainian legislation as part of future EU legislation.

 

5. CONCLUSION

This article provides a detailed analysis of the translation of the General Provisions and the Provisions on Certification Commissions as two basic parts of the procedure for the certification of doctors in Ukraine. The types of certifications of stomatologists and aspects of the functioning of certification commissions were carefully considered.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Ievgen I. Fesenko: Conceptualization; writing – original draft. Olena Patalakha: Conceptualization; writing – review and editing. Tetiana Zhdanova:  Review and editing.

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