Duodecim; lääketieteellinen aikakauskirja
Volume 131, Issue 4, 2015, Pages 339-346

Finnish language proficiency of immigrant physicians in medical licensure examinations [Maahanmuuttajataustaisten lääkärien suomen kielen taito laillistamiskuulustelussa] (Article)

Tervola M. , Pajunen A. , Vainio S. , Honko M. , Mattila K.
  • a [Affiliation not available]
  • b [Affiliation not available]
  • c [Affiliation not available]
  • d [Affiliation not available]
  • e [Affiliation not available]

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Physicians immigrating to Finland from countries outside the EU/EEA must pass a language test and three medical licensure examinations (MLE) in Finnish. Failing rates are high and remarkably variable.MATERIAL AND METHODS: MLE examination papers were analyzed with linguistic criteria: writing skills and word frequency. Results of the linguistic analyses were compared with the MLE scores.RESULTS: Better results in writing skills analysis correlate with higher scores in MLE. Also a higher portion of rare words correlates with higher scores in MLE.CONCLUSIONS: The mandatory language test does not serve as a valid measurement tool for immigrant physicians.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

male education female Communication Barriers Foreign Medical Graduates Humans Finland Educational Measurement procedures Licensure, Medical foreign worker human communication disorder licensing
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85002836397&partnerID=40&md5=35f5bfc3a1f92e0bf834aca5947b65ac
ISSN: 00127183
Cited by: 1
Original Language: Finnish