Klekovski: Registration for 300 specialist trainees completed, jobs to be determined according to hospitals’ needs

Applications for the Ministry of Health’s call to employ 300 specialist trainees in public healthcare institutions through the end of 2026 have closed. Minister Sasho Klekovski said that candidates’ interests are currently being matched with hospitals’ needs.

According to Klekovski, hospitals outside Skopje will be given priority, based on their requests and their shortage of specialized staff.

“Applications have closed, and we are now in the process of aligning the interest expressed by the specialist trainees with the needs of the hospitals. We do not intend to force anyone to accept a position simply because there is interest from specialist trainees; there must be a genuine need at the relevant hospital. All hospitals outside Skopje have priority. Once the matching process is completed, which is expected soon, we will make the results known to the public and provide the hospitals with instructions to begin the employment procedures, including announcements, calls and testing,” Klekovski said.

The minister stressed that healthcare staffing needs should be assessed at the regional level, rather than only within each institution.

“We must understand that the shortage of doctors and nurses is a problem not only in Macedonia or Europe, but throughout the world. It is expected to deepen, not diminish, due to many factors. For this reason, in the future we must consider the institutions as a whole: public health centers, health centers, general hospitals and specialized hospitals. The workload at one institution may indicate unused capacity at another, which is why healthcare workers must also show greater flexibility in terms of availability,” the minister said.

Klekovski acknowledged that there is a general shortage of nurses, instrument technicians and other similar staff, adding that active efforts are under way to resolve the problem.