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Number of foreign doctors in Belgium on the rise

11:27 06/06/2014

There are currently 5,372 foreign doctors, medical specialists and medical students registered in Belgium. Ten years ago, there were only 1,712 such registrations, according to a calculation by medical journal Artsenkrant.

Last year there were 365 foreign general physicians (GP) actively practicing in Belgium, or 2.2% of all GPs in the country. Ten years earlier, Belgium had 145 foreign GPs (0.9%). Of all the specialists active in Belgium last year, 2,006 of them were foreigners (7.1%), compared to 767 (3.4%) ten years ago.

The accessible education system in Belgium might provide one explanation for the increase. Last year 3,001, or nearly one-quarter, of all medical students in the country came from outside Belgium. Ten years ago, 800 foreigners came to Belgium to study medicine, or less than 10%.

French and Dutch doctors make up the largest group, but there has also been a sharp increase recently in the number of doctors from Spain, Italy, Greece and Romania.

Written by Robyn Boyle

Comments

salsadancer

I just hope the "foreign" doctors have the same qualifications as Belgian trained doctors (whom I find excellent). If there is no oversight, I foresee problems.

Jun 7, 2014 10:32