BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 28. Azerbaijan will make the certification exam question bank for healthcare professionals publicly available and introduce a new digital application, Minister of Health Teymur Musayev said in a joint interview with Azerbaijan Television’s “Hadaf” program and Trend News Agency.
The minister said the move is part of broader efforts to improve the professional development of medical workers and enhance the quality of healthcare services in the country.
According to Musayev, the certification process for healthcare professionals should not be viewed as a punitive measure or a form of pressure, but rather as a mechanism aimed at supporting continuous professional development: “You are absolutely right. This issue had been widely discussed within the medical community for a long time. The position of the Ministry of Health has always remained unchanged. Our main objective is to ensure that healthcare professionals working in Azerbaijan have access to proper continuous medical education, create opportunities for ongoing professional development and, ultimately, guarantee the delivery of high-quality medical services to our people and citizens.”
“The certification exam itself is not a form of punishment, pressure or a burden. Of course, there are people who feel anxious about taking exams or experience psychological difficulties, and we understand this,” he added.
The minister noted that despite extensive discussions surrounding the certification process, the pass rate among healthcare professionals remained high. “Even during the period when discussions among healthcare professionals were at their most intense, the pass rate for the certification exam stood at 97%. In other words, the public debate was much louder than the actual issue itself. However, conducting an exam every five years allows us to assess a person’s knowledge and skills, but it does not allow us to improve them,” Musayev said.
He added that the Ministry of Health has introduced an additional option allowing medical professionals to obtain certification through continuous professional development. “The Ministry of Health, as a central executive authority, and guided by the need to take necessary measures to protect the health of citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, introduced a new initiative. As you know, amendments were recently made to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan ‘On the Protection of Public Health’,” the minister said.
“Under these amendments, in addition to the certification exam held once every five years, every doctor or healthcare professional will have the opportunity to choose another pathway. They will also be able to obtain certification by collecting no less than 250 credit points within five years under the Continuous Professional Development program,” he added.
Musayev said the Ministry of Health regularly updates the certification exam question bank by adding modern approaches and information on new treatment methods. “The question bank is regularly updated by the Ministry of Health. It includes more modern approaches and information on contemporary treatment methods. A new digital solution will also be introduced in this area soon,” he said.
According to the minister, a dedicated application will be launched for specialists who prefer taking the certification exam instead of collecting professional development credits due to their workload. “For specialists who do not have the opportunity or time to collect an average of 50 credit points annually due to their intensive workload, a special application will be introduced for those who prefer to take the exam,” Musayev said.
“The entire question bank will be available in this application. There is nothing to hide here. Knowledge should not be concealed; on the contrary, it should be promoted and shared. The question collection will include the correct answer to each question, along with an academic explanation. As a result, people will be able not only to see which answer is correct, but also understand why that answer is correct, with a full academic explanation, without the need to search for additional literature,” the minister said.
