Surgeons or physicians working in Dubai will have to pass a skills test before being granted a licence to practice under new rules planned by health officials.
Dubai Health Authority is planning to build a surgical skills laboratory where physicians will be required to take a test, according to a report in Khaleej Times.
“We cannot judge the surgical competency of any physician from paperwork alone. We will also have to see if the surgeon has worked ‘solo’ or not,” Dr Essa Kazim, CEO Health Policy and Strategy at the authority, told the paper.
“This is being done to ensure patient safety and see if the surgeon or physician is fit to practise.”
Any surgeons or physicians who fail to pass the test will be offered further training.
Skills tests are part of a wider process to streamline and improve medical licencing, bringing it under the responsibility of the health authority.
So far 3,500 public and private sector physicians have been registered with the authority since the process began in 2008.
