The profession of psycho-oncologist in Poland as an example of inadequate legal regulation in the area of health care

Psychiatr Pol. 2023 Mar 9:1-12. doi: 10.12740/PP/OnlineFirst/152857. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe profession of psycho-oncologist in Poland is not sufficiently regulated by law. The issue is further complicated by the fact that this profession has not been classified by the legislature in the group of medical professions, but only in the group of allied health professions. Currently, according to the Regulation of the Minister of Health on guaranteed services in the field of hospital treatment, a psycho-oncologist is a person with higher medical education, i.e. a graduate of a medical university, for example a doctor or a nurse, who has fulfilled the additional condition of completing postgraduate studies in psycho-oncology. It is thus clear that the legal definition of the profession of a psycho-oncologist remaining in force is inconsistent with the regulation of this profession in force since 2018, resulting from the announcement of the same minister in the Polish Qualifications Framework (PQF - Polska Rama Kwalifikacji, abbrev. PRK). This is because the PQF limits the group of persons who may obtain a qualification in the area of psycho-oncological diagnosis and treatment to psychologists and psychiatrists only, thus limiting the group of persons authorised to practise the profession of a psycho-oncologist. An additional legal problem results from significant differences in the nature of the professions of a medical doctor and psychologist, due to the fact that the Ac...
Source: Psychiatria Polska - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research