In the Newspaper 12. December had ANSAs Hanna Flood, a post which, unfortunately, was unyansert and contained the counterfeit heroics. One gets the impression that a significant number of norwegians have obtained a license as a psychologist after having completed the master’s degree programme at ELTE university in Budapest. This is incorrect. There has not been any influx of Norwegian students from ELTE in 13 years.
The first Norwegian autorisasjonssøkeren with education from ELTE came in 2008, and until 2013 there were only four applicants. In the period 2013 to 2016 has only 29 Norwegian candidates with a master’s in psychology from Hungary been granted a license.
the ministry of Health does not consider education as good or bad, but has since praksisendringen in 2016 has been keen to communicate that it is the Hungarian masterutdanningen up against the Norwegian profesjonsutdanning in psychology that is considered. We have, based on professional advice, considered that the education offered at the ELTE university in Hungary do not have the scope and the content that is necessary to reach up to the Norwegian profesjonsutdanning, the education system in Norway gives the right to work clinically as a psychologist.
On behalf of HOD has the ministry of Health developed and launched a qualification for ELTE-students. The content of the program is developed in cooperation with the Norwegian universities. It is difficult to avoid that some of the theoretical curriculum is experienced as repetition, but the key must be that the qualification, through theory and guided practice, is a quality assured and comprehensive program that can lead to an overall competence that leads up to the Norwegian authorisation and the best possible prerequisites for working as a psychologist in the Norwegian health services.
Flood suggests in his article that foreign universities can make the comparison of the foreign education up against the Norwegian who qualify for a Norwegian authorisation. We believe that it is entirely clear is the providers of education who know the Norwegian education system the best, and must make such an assessment. It is worth noting that no other country in the EEA or the EU practice it WOULD here suggest. This is not a matter of competition, conflicts of interest and the protection of their own interests, but on the other hand a work which will ensure that patients in Norway are faced with a health care professional who has the formal qualifications they should have to get authorization.
ministry of Health are in agreement with ANSA in the most possible predictability when one makes utdanningsvalg is important. For utenlandsstudentene in Europe is the predictability in that they choose an education that gives the right to exercise the profession in utdanningslandet. We work continuously with you to inform about this in those channels we know students abroad uses, including ANSAs own information service.