Regulations on the introduction of the three-semester course of study came into force last August, and the Human Resources Minister mandated József Betlehem, the head of the medical faculty at the University of Pécs, to coordinate the launch of the novel programme, daily Magyar Idők said.

Nurses with MSc degrees can examine patients with chronic illnesses, assess laboratory tests and refill prescriptions, freeing up doctors to handle more demanding cases. Betlehem said about 20 nurses were expected to enter each of the programmes at the three universities in the autumn.

Budapest’s Semmelweis University will start offering the course in February 2018, he added. OECD statistics show almost 800 doctors trained in Hungary left to practice in the UK in 2010-2014. During the same period, almost 1,000 left to practice in Germany.

Hungary’s government agreed to raise base salaries of doctors by 27% from last September and a further 12% from November 2017.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.