Month: November 2020

Telemedicine, as providing health services through audio or video content that can be held in real-time or subsequently, is a market that has existed for several decades and is therefore nothing new. However, with the constant development of technology and its application in medicine, the boundaries of telemedicine are expanding every day so more and more doctors are deciding to earn extra money in their spare time.

In addition to the many benefits that telemedicine provides to patients, such as shorter waiting times for doctor consultations, better availability of quality services and easier access to specialists (which is especially important during a global pandemic), telemedicine also offers benefits to doctors who choose to work this way. In addition to flexible working hours and the aforementioned additional earnings in addition to regular work, doctors can reach a larger number of patients and gain experience from the comfort of their own home and without the need to open private practices.

Specializations such as radiology, psychiatry, dermatology, cardiology, but also primary health care, due to the nature of work, can make much better use of the opportunities that telemedicine offers compared to, say, the specialization of gastroenterology. Patients most often decide for a virtual meetup with a doctor to request a consultation or interpretation of findings. However, there is also a branch of telemedicine that deals with patient monitoring. These are most often patients who either have long-term illnesses and have devices that allow doctors to check the patient’s condition, which also common being situations in which the patient’s condition is monitored through telemedicine after surgery. It is important to note that telemedicine is not a substitute for conventional medicine but is there as addition and complement so that the patient has a better and faster service available.

In addition to providing medical services to patients, telemedicine is also used for consultation with other specialists, which, according to the research by the American Medical Association is particularly pronounced in emergency medicine, pathology and radiology, and also allows smaller hospitals and surgeries to outsource work when they are full on the existing work capacity.

To be able to work and receive a salary in the telemedicine market of a country, doctors need a work license specific for that country, and for the sake of competitiveness, it is desirable to have at least 6 months of work experience in the same country as employers often do not acknowledge candidates without work experience. Thus, for example, a radiologist who went to Denmark and worked for several years but decided to return to Croatia has all the possibilities to earn money from Croatia and work in telemedicine for Danes. Given that, according to a market study done for the European Commission, the telemedicine market in Europe will grow at a rate of 14% per year, doctors with international experience and licenses in other countries have many opportunities that were unimaginable until a few years ago.

For more information on how to get a job, and therefore a license in the rest of Europe on time, contact us at:

Email: info@incor.hr
Facebook: @incordoo

In addition to finding positions for the specialists we provide in Sweden, we recently wrote about the experiences of Lucia and Iris taking a Swedish language course with our colleague Zrinka. Passing the language course on the C1 level opens the door to finding the desired medical specialization in Sweden, but also employment for all those who are not in medicine. That is why we are conveying the experiences of two pharmacists who passed the C1 level of language with us, obtained licenses according to the instructions, and finally found positions in Sweden on their own and moved.

In addition to Swedish language courses, you can also take English, German, Russian and Spanish with us, about which you can request additional information at info@incor.hr, where we are always available for your inquiries.

Nermina’s experience:

I can say that in the beginning, when I moved to Sweden, it was quite difficult for me. After the initial 3 months, it was already easier and more comfortable for me to get along in Sweden, and after 6 months everything became much easier. I learned the language after 1.5 years and have been in Sweden for about 3 years now.

Before moving, I needed to learn the language to compete in the whole Swedish labour market, which was the best solution for me. In Croatia, I worked as the head of a pharmacy and I had a good employer, but somehow that was not what I wanted for myself and the child, and at one point something happened so I decided to start the process, as the future of my child was the driving force for it.

I found Zrinka via the internet and through the foreign language school where she previously worked. I can say that she was not only a teacher but supported me in every step and motivated me when I was on the verge of giving up. I am glad she was there for me, she is a very positive and upbeat person. In the end, she instructed me to submit the documentation and how to apply for the recognition of the diploma (although I decided to recognize it through the EU Commission, which turned out to be the longer procedure).

In a couple of months, when I was at about B2 level, I got a license in Sweden, but without C1 I still couldn’t work in a pharmacy. Then Zrinka advised me to go to Sweden for a month to perfect my language, which I didn’t understand at the time, but during those months of my stay, my language sat much better as I forced myself to talk and communicate. In Sweden, I took intensive language courses every day for a month. Communication in Swedish is taught and forced, while in the afternoon we often used to stay in a language cafe, ie the place where the foreign people that are learning the language gather and improve it through conversation. In my free time, I watched Netflix in Swedish as my goal was to learn the language properly.

After that 1 month I returned to Croatia, soon passed the C1 level and 2 months later moved to Sweden. I was lucky in a part that the new boss in Sweden was full of understanding and put me on the recipes right from the start. In the meantime, I changed the environment, created some kind of routine that suits me and I got more opportunities to progress at work and everything started to work great and settled down.

I noticed that we who learned the language before moving somehow did better than those who learn it here. Sweden is a country that you either love or not, it is somehow black or white. People appreciate you a lot here, the attitude towards workers is as it should be – for example, if someone in the company is allergic to nuts, a notice is placed in the kitchen to make sure not to leave the same for the safety of others. My current boss is also very empathetic, people suit me and she paycheck is simply a bonus on excellent working conditions. I got what I wanted and I really like living and working in Sweden.

Jasmina’s experience:

The language course is the first step and condition for you to manage and get a job in a foreign country, and I can say that I really liked this course. Zrinka is full of knowledge and ready to help whatever she needs, and in addition to her professional knowledge, I can say that she was often our unofficial life coach and psychologist as she encouraged us a lot when we got stuck. It took me a year to learn Swedish to the C1 level, after which I obtained a license with Zrinka’s instructions. I applied through our chamber and waited about 2 months for a license in Sweden.

I found a job online, and for starters, I worked as an assistant in a pharmacy where the manager was also from Croatia. In my experience, employers look at it a lot and will, if possible, place you somewhere with people who came from a similar culture. In this job, I slowly perfected my language and in a couple of months, it was a different story. After about 6 months, I got a job as a master of pharmacy and started working on prescriptions in a part of the city where there are immigrants from all over the world. Colleagues slowly introduced me to the job, explained in detail when needed and I read a lot and worked with patients to get used to it.

After a year I moved again and worked with a majority Swedish population, most of whom are cheerful and warm people. They like to joke and talk, they aren’t burdened by some surface things. For me, the job was quite similar to that in Croatia, maybe everything was even a little simpler because the system is better organized. Sweden is a country that is full of opportunities and provides opportunities for progress for everyone, no matter what you do.

For the language, I would recommend learning as much as you can before moving. Swedish is a mixture between English and German where the grammar is much simpler than German, but pronunciation is sometimes an obstacle given that it is not so familiar in the ears or people from our part of Europe and we are not used to it, but generally it is somewhere between these two languages.

Request additional information at:
Email: info@incor.hr
Facebook: @incordoo

Although finding a specialization in Scandinavia is an extremely time-consuming and complicated process, some doctors have courageously decided on this adventure. Among them, we decided to single out the experiences of Iris Đipalo Juretić and Lucia Španjol Pandelo, who successfully overcame all obstacles, passed the Swedish language course and finally moved to Sweden, where they are both currently attending specialization.

In addition to the Swedish course, which Iris and Lucia took at INCOR, with our help you can also take English, German, Russian and Spanish, so contact us at info@incor.hr where we will be happy to provide you with the necessary information about language courses.

Experience of Iris:

I decided to inquire about the possibilities of going to Sweden when my godparents found employment through the agency and after they moved to Sweden. As no agency offers employment opportunities in Scandinavia for doctors who do not have a specialization, I talked to Zrinka Stanić from INCOR and decided to take a language course on my own to compete in the Swedish market. Before that, of course, we talked within the family because it was important for us to all be for moving away, which was especially interesting for our child given that the education system is different than the one in Croatia. Here in Sweden a lot is adjusted and optimized according to children’s needs.

With the Swedish language course I attended from Zrinka, I managed to work and live normally all the time. The whole course lasted approximately 1.5 years and we passed everything necessary from A1 to C1 level of language proficiency. We were adjusting a lot around the appointments, Zrinka is flexible in that regard at your service. When I passed the C1 level the team from INCOR helped me and instructed me how I can get a work license in Sweden, she helped me in organising my CV, what documentation is needed and how everything needs to be prepared.

When I got my license I visited Sweden where I have family members. My aunt helped me and gave me an insight into what to expect from their health care system, which meant a lot to me and additionally motivated me to organize everything as soon as possible to leave. Hospitals in Sweden are very flexible and easy to negotiate with them about employment. I reached out to my employer online. It is important to emphasize that one should point out one’s knowledge and experience in the CV because if you show that you are eager to adapt to the Swedish healthcare system, hospitals have no problem investing in you. Larger hospitals also help with accommodation and obtaining the necessary documentation on arrival, such as personnummer (Swedish national personal number).

At the very beginning, you can expect weekly courses aimed at introducing you to the legal system in Sweden from a legal point of view, and for those who have not mastered the medical vocabulary enough, hospitals also pay additional classes for every 2 weeks until you reach the required level, at least in my western region of Sweden.

Although it is quite strenuous at certain moments, I am glad that I decided to go on this process. When you have a goal and when you make a decision, everything is much easier to do. A language course is definitely a great investment in yourself, and to further improve it, it is always good to find a way to use it in your free time.

Experience of Lucia:

The Swedish course went very smoothly and it was not hard for me to learn a new language, it was easy to click on everything with Zrinka. We had lectures twice a week for 1.5 hours at the initial levels of the course, and later more often, so in a total of 1 year and 3 months I managed to learn and pass the Swedish language at the C1 level required to apply to the medical chamber.

One month before taking C1 level, I sent the application documentation (EU certificates, certificate of a professional exam, diploma – all officially translated into English), and when I passed the language and sent the certificate of knowledge, I was asked for certificates of all previous degrees, meaning from A1 to C1. I would emphasize that the chamber needs 2 to 3 months to process all the data, so it is necessary to have patience in the process of obtaining a license.

When I gained a solid level of language proficiency, I was able to arrange a visit to Linköping Hospital for a week. Since I didn’t have a license at the time, I could only stand by and watch everything being done in the hospital, similar to my student days in Croatia. In the meantime, I stayed in touch with people at the hospital and contacted them after obtaining a license and forwarded my CV and recommendations. Good referrals play a big role to employers in Sweden, and if possible it is always good to send a recommendation letter of a colleague who is already in Sweden. Larger hospitals, which are mostly affiliated with universities, value research work a lot, so it’s also always a good thing to emphasize if you’re aiming for a position at a university hospital.

I would also advise the candidates who can afford it to visit Sweden before employment and relocation. When you are here and you are still learning the language in some way, you force yourself to improve it. Regularly practising it helps a lot. Zrinka prepared us really good, the courses via Skype were ideal for me and I managed to study and work at the same time. When I was nearing the end she additionally assisted with information about sending the documentation and advice regarding CV and applications to job openings.

Request additional information at:
Email: info@incor.hr
Facebook: @incordoo