– We are very happy that the Directorate of Health has listened to us and that they agree. We think it was an unreasonable case, and are relieved that we won, Oda Sodefjed Tørnkvist. New rules from 2021 meant that physiotherapy students studying in Denmark could not go directly to work in Norway, but had to have a year’s practice without pay. After a U-turn from the authorities, Oda now does not have to complete the shift service without pay in order to be approved. Now she gets authorization and can apply for regular jobs. Working for free Since 15 August, she has been working for free at the hospital in Arendal. – Now I don’t have to work for six months without pay. I can leave the hospital and start applying for jobs and get paid, says Tørnkvist. She was lucky in the first months after finishing her studies, when she got a paid temporary job in Sunnfjord in Vestland county. But now she was starting the free period at Sørlandet Hospital. Tørnkvist has been in contact with several of the fellow students from Denmark who are now also looking forward to ending their free internship periods. – It means a lot to us financially. And it’s a big victory for us that the Directorate of Health has listened to our objections to the new scheme, she says. The Danish students engaged a lawyer to plead their case against the authorities. The Norwegian Physiotherapist Association (NFF) has also become involved in the case. – It is a day of joy especially for the students, but also for us in the NFF. We have had a good dialogue with the Directorate of Health regarding this matter, and we believe they have come to a wise solution, says union leader of the Norwegian Physiotherapist Association, Gerty Lund to Fysio.no. The students practice at the university in Århus Received a shock message Last year around a hundred Norwegian students in Denmark received the shock message in the middle of their studies that they did not receive authorization in Norway after the end of their studies. When they started their course of study in Denmark, an 18-year-old Nordic agreement still applied, which guaranteed students in health subjects authorization regardless of where in the Nordics they studied. In short, it meant that you could go straight to work after your education. But due to a new agreement, the Norwegian physio students now had to work for a year without pay when they returned home to Norway. At the same time, students from Norwegian schools would receive 90 percent of their basic salary during their internship. Oda Sodefjed Tørnkvist will end her internship at the hospital in Arendal and look for a paid job as a physiotherapist. Photo: Wibeke Bruland / news The Directorate of Health has reversed After Norwegian students in Denmark and the Norwegian Physiotherapists Association have asked the Directorate of Health to look into the matter several times, they have now reversed. The Directorate of Health informs news that applicants with Danish physiotherapy training will now be able to obtain Norwegian authorization without completing the Norwegian rotation service or one year of supervised practice. – The background is updated professional advice from OsloMet. The professional councils are clear in their conclusion that the Danish physiotherapy educations with a duration of 3.5 years are to be considered as good as the Norwegian physiotherapy educations, including rotation service, says acting department director Cathrine Lien Jensen to news. This means that the Directorate of Health has changed the approval practice for Danish physiotherapy students. This in turn means that students who have completed 3.5 years of Danish physiotherapy training receive authorization without the requirement to have completed a rotation in Norway first. Anna Handal Hellesnes in ANSA says it should be predictable to undertake studies abroad. Photo: ANSA ANSA: Study abroad must be predictable The Student Association for Norwegian Students Abroad, ANSA, is happy that the matter has now been resolved for the physiotherapist students in Denmark. – We have followed the case and been in dialogue with the students. It is good that the Directorate of Health has now turned around, and that the students are getting authorisation. It is important both for the new graduates and for society, says Anna Handal Hellesnes, president of ANSA. – It must be predictable for the students abroad, and it is important that there are favorable conditions for the students when they return home with skills that are important for Norway, she adds.
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Giving up working for free to become a physiotherapist – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
