Recognition of specialty certification

The Scientific Council is pleased to introduce the “Green Track” – a streamlined online process for recognizing medical specialties of physicians trained abroad. This expedited pathway is available to physicians from the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Eligibility for "Green Track" is determined by the Scientific Council and is contingent upon meeting specific criteria. Physicians may apply if they:

• Hold a specialist degree in a medical specialty that is recognized in Israel.
• Completed a residency program that is comparable to Israeli training requirements.

Relevant Criteria for the Green Track Process
 

1. Comparable Residency Training
   The residency was completed full-time and continuously, with a defined curriculum and clinical training standards similar to those outlined in the Israeli specialty syllabus and residency regulations.
    
2. Substantial Duration
   The duration of the main specialty training and the total length of the residency must be at least 70% of the duration required in Israel for that specialty.
    
3. Continuous Practice
   The physician has been practicing in the specialty on an ongoing basis up to the time of application.
    
4. Specialist Examinations
   The applicant holds a specialist certificate from an official body authorized to issue such certification in the U.S., Canada, France, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand or South Africa and successfully passed national-level specialty exams during his or her residency. These exams must be comparable in level and quality to Israel’s Stage A and Stage B exams.

Application Submission

Applications to the Scientific Council must be submitted through an online platform, available in both Hebrew and English, along with all required supporting documents.

Once the complete application and documentation have been submitted, the Chair of the Exemptions Committee will review whether the request meets the criteria for consideration under the Green Track (online procedure) by the Scientific Council.

• If the physician meets both the criteria for recognition of training periods and for exemption from specialty exams, his or her training and/or professional experience will be recognized, and s/he will be exempt from both Stage A and Stage B exams and from the adaptation period.
• If not, the application will be referred to the standard evaluation process of the Scientific Council.

Physicians Who Received a Scientific Council Decision Before the “Green Track” Came into Effect

Physicians from the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, who received a decision letter from the Scientific Council before the publication of the “Green Track,” and whose decision letter states they only need to complete a 3-month adaptation period, may contact the Scientific Council via an online form.

The Council will review the request according to the criteria of the Green Track and consider whether the Green Track can be applied to them.

The response/decision of the Scientific Council can be viewed in your personal area.

Recognition of Residency Training Periods

A residency period completed abroad will be recognized if all of the following conditions are met:

1. Accredited Institution
The residency was completed in a department or institution that received accreditation from a national authority authorized to grant such recognition. The training must have been full-time and continuous, with a defined syllabus, and in accordance with clinical activity standards and requirements comparable to those outlined in the Israeli specialty syllabus and residency regulations.

2. Sufficient Duration
 The duration of the residency in the primary specialty—and the total length of the training—must be no less than 70% of the required duration for that specialty in Israel.
 The Scientific Council may also consider recognizing periods of work performed after the physician became a certified specialist, to fulfill additional residency requirements in cases where the original residency was shorter than required in Israel.

In combined specialties, the duration of training for each individual specialty must be at least 70% of the full residency period required in Israel for that specialty. For example, if Internal Medicine requires 4 years and Pediatrics requires 3 years, then the training in Internal Medicine alone should be at least 2.8 years (70% of 4 years), and the training in Pediatrics alone should be at least 2.1 years (70% of 3 years).

3. Continuous Practice
The physician must have been practicing in their specialty continuously up to the time of application.
The Chair of the Exemptions Committee may consider granting an exemption even if the physician ceased practicing up to five years before submitting the application.

Exemption from Specialist Examinations

A physician who has completed specialty training abroad may be exempt from the Israeli Stage A and Stage B specialist examinations if both the physician and the training program meet the following conditions:
 

• The applicant holds a specialist certificate issued by an official authority (e.g., College, Board) that is authorized to grant such certification in the respective country.
• During residency, the applicant successfully passed a national-level specialist examination that is comparable in level and quality to Israel’s Stage A and Stage B specialty exams.

Exemption from Completing Basic Specialty Training for Subspecialty Applicants

A physician who has worked abroad in the subspecialty for a period equal to or longer than the combined residency duration required in Israel for both the basic specialty and the subspecialty will be asked to complete a work period determined by the Scientific Council, under the head of the department in the subspecialty, who is also an expert in the basic specialty. 

If the physician’s work period abroad in the subspecialty is shorter than the combined residency duration required in Israel for both specialties, they will be asked to complete in Israel the remaining time needed to reach this combined duration, minus the time credited by the Scientific Council based on their prior training and experience abroad. The Scientific Council may decide that this completion period will be carried out in either the subspecialty or the basic specialty, or both.

Recognition Procedure

Two committees of the Scientific Council will review the application and make a decision that considers successful passing of the specialization exams, completion of required work periods in Israel, and necessary courses:

1. A professional committee relevant to the requested specialty
2. A dedicated committee on the Stage B exam

Submitting the Application

The application must be submitted through an online system in Hebrew or English, accompanied by the required documents listed on this page, which prove the exact specialization pathway and passing the exams.

After receiving the initial application, a service representative from the Scientific Council handling the request will contact the physician through the online system to clarify details and request any missing documents.

Documents to Attach to the Application

1. Detailed curriculum vitae – please include current email address, residential address, and phone number
2. M.D. diploma – proof of completion of medical studies
3. Israeli medical license (if available)
4. Official document detailing internship period (if completed)
5. Official document from the responsible body for specialization in the country or from the institution where the physician specialized, detailing the specialization pathway completed
6. Certification of successful completion of specialization exams, if any
7. Specialist certificate issued by an official body authorized to grant specialist certification in the issuing country
8. Official documents from workplaces after specialization, detailing professional experience as a specialist
9. Physicians specializing in surgical fields must submit lists of surgeries performed during their specialization, signed by the supervising specialist
10. Physicians who worked in Israel for any period in a recognized specialization department must submit a letter of recommendation from the head of that department

Important!

Copies of the original required documents must be submitted, along with their certified translations into Hebrew or English notarized by a certified notary.

Affidavits regarding work and specialization of a physician abroad may serve only as informational sources at most.

Physicians whose specialization and experience have been recognized as meeting all training requirements in Israel but who do not qualify for the green track are required, according to procedure, to undergo an adaptation period. The purpose of this period is to ensure that the immigrant physician is capable of functioning as a specialist physician in Israel. During the adaptation period, it will be assessed whether the physician has an adequate level of training, knowledge, clinical approach, interpersonal skills, and familiarity with the Israeli healthcare system, and whether they are able to function within it.

Duration and Placement

Duration: The standard adaptation period is three months. It must be completed full-time and continuously, without interruptions.

Placement: The appropriate setting for the adaptation period (i.e., department, clinic, institute, etc.) will be determined by the Scientific Council and specified in the response letter to the physician. The adaptation period may be carried out in any institution in Israel recognized for at least two-thirds (2/3) of the required specialization period in the primary specialty.

1. In the case of a physician requesting recognition in both a base specialty and a subspecialty (recognized in Israel as built upon the base specialty), the professional committee may decide on a single adaptation period under a department head who holds specialist titles in both fields. This director would then provide a recommendation for recognition in both specialties.

2. The professional committee may consider shortening the adaptation period to a minimum of one month in the following cases:

• A physician who studied medicine in Israel and holds a valid Israeli medical license;
• A physician who has worked in Israel for at least 5 years as a doctor and provides a recommendation;
• A physician who is internationally recognized as an expert in his or her specialty and submits letters of support from two department heads and/or physicians in Israel who hold the rank of associate professor or higher in their specialty, confirming and substantiating the physician's expertise.

Activities and Content

During the adaptation period, the physician must be exposed to the full range of the department’s routine work, including engaging in activities and procedures relevant to their area of specialization.
Evaluation Form at the End of the Adaptation Period

Evaluation Form at the End of the Adaptation Period

At the end of the adaptation period, the head of the department where the physician worked must send an evaluation form to the Scientific Council. In this form, the department head will indicate the period of work—start and end dates—the actual clinical activities performed by the physician, their assessment, and their recommendation.

If the evaluation from the department head is not positive, the department head will be asked to estimate the additional period of specialization the applicant must complete. Based on this assessment, the Scientific Council will determine the required period of additional training in the primary or subspecialty field that the applicant must complete in order to be granted a specialist title.
 

Completing an Adaptation Period before Aliya

In order to assist physicians from abroad who intend to immigrate to Israel, the Ministry of Health and the Scientific Council of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) have decided to allow physicians whose specialty training abroad has been recognized by the Scientific Council—and who are required to complete an adaptation period (supervised work) in Israel—to carry out this adaptation period even before immigrating, while staying in Israel as tourists, through a limited permit to practice medicine.

Physicians who complete the adaptation period as required will be able to finalize the process of obtaining a specialist certificate shortly after immigrating to Israel and begin working as specialists, subject to final approval by the Scientific Council, close to their arrival in the country.

The validity of the adaptation period under this framework is three years.

Detailed information regarding the limited permit can be found on the website of the Department for Licensing of Medical Professions.
 

Completion of the Adaptation Period

At the end of the adaptation period, the following documents must be submitted online to the Scientific Council:

• Evaluation Form signed by the department head (PDF file)
• Copy of a valid license to practice medicine in Israel

Once the required documents are received and reviewed, the request for specialist recognition will be forwarded for the signature of the Chair of the Scientific Council and subsequently sent to the Department of Licensing of Medical Professions at the Ministry of Health, the authority responsible for approving and issuing the specialist certificate.

In specialties so required, the trainee must submit summarized and/or detailed lists of procedures and/or surgeries performed during the adaptation period. These lists should be submitted in two forms:

A. A summarized list of all procedures and/or surgeries, signed by the head of the department confirming its accuracy. (Example of summarized surgery lists available)

B. A detailed list of the procedures and/or surgeries included in the summarized list, numbered and categorized by type, with the following fields: surgery name, date, record number or patient initials, patient age, and the trainee’s role in the surgery (primary surgeon/assistant etc.), submitted as an Excel file. (Example of categorized surgery lists available in Excel)

*An additional separate list may be submitted alongside the two required lists, including a detailed list of major or rare surgeries in which the trainee participated as an assistant.

C. A letter from the head of the department confirming the accuracy of the detailed list of procedures and/or surgeries (signatures on each page of the lists are not required).

The following is a list of the approved residency tracks for each medical profession. The document details the required rotation durations and outlines the clinical units involved, serving as a guide for residents planning their specialization path.
Residency Tracks