Practising in Bosnia and Herzegovina: why the stručni ispit depends on the entity

Medical and health education in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Medicine is taught at the universities of Sarajevo, Tuzla, Mostar, Banja Luka and East Sarajevo (Foča), in programmes of six years. Dentistry and pharmacy are taught at Sarajevo, with dentistry and pharmacy also available at Banja Luka and other schools. Nursing, midwifery and physiotherapy are bachelor or secondary-school programmes at health-studies faculties and secondary medical schools.

Several faculties admit international students, and some offer English-language options. A foreign student who graduates in Bosnia and Herzegovina holds a diploma that is not an EU degree, so the directive does not apply and each destination country assesses it individually.

The link between graduation and registration passes through the entity. A graduate completes an internship, takes the stručni ispit set by the ministry of the entity or canton, and then obtains a licence from the relevant chamber or ministry. Where a Bologna degree includes a practical placement, FBiH rules allow some graduates to skip the internship.

Graduates who plan to work abroad should study the destination's exam: PLAB or an accepted route for the UK, Approbation for Germany with a language certificate and a knowledge check, AMC for Australia, USMLE for the US, or Gulf regulator exams after Dataflow. Confirm each regulator's current conditions.

Three jurisdictions, one country

The defining fact about Bosnia and Herzegovina is that licensing is not national. Under the post-war constitution, health is the responsibility of the entities and Brčko District. The Federation delegates parts of it to ten cantons. Practically, the same degree can lead to different exam rules depending on where you want to work.

The FBiH regulation is the best documented. The RS Ministry of Health and Social Welfare publishes exam programmes for each profession on the Government of Republika Srpska website, which is a useful source. Brčko District runs its own arrangement. Our notes on RS are less complete, so treat RS rows as items to check.

Who needs the stručni ispit

All six professions take a stručni ispit. In FBiH the nurse's exam is held before a cantonal commission, and the doctor's, pharmacist's and dentist's exams before a Federal Ministry commission. Secondary-school health graduates sit before the cantonal commission.

Doctors in the Federation of BiH

1. Graduate. Finish the faculty degree.
2. Complete the internship. Six months in FBiH, unless the Bologna degree already contains the practical placement.
3. Apply to the Federal Ministry. Submit the application and the internship record.
4. Take both parts. The general part and the professional part are oral, before the commission.

The pass mark is pass or fail. If you fail a part, you can retake it after 30 days. A full retake follows after 60 days.

Republika Srpska and Brčko District

The Republika Srpska Ministry of Health and Social Welfare publishes exam programmes by profession and by level of education, which is more than most ministries in the region do. The documents list topics for each profession, and candidates can use them as a syllabus. Read the programme for your profession in full, because the topic lists differ from the FBiH ones.

Brčko District has its own health administration and regulations. If you want to work there, contact the District's health authority for the current procedure instead of assuming that FBiH or RS rules apply.

A practical sequence for a foreign graduate

Pick the jurisdiction first, because everything else follows from it. Then ask the ministry for the list of documents for nostrification, the language expectation, whether an internship or differential exams apply, and the date of the next sitting. Collect translations by a court-certified translator, and keep copies of your diploma supplement and transcript.

Timelines vary. A graduate who waits for the next sitting after a failed part has about a month in FBiH, but the exam commission may meet only on set dates, so the real wait can be longer. Build slack into your plan.

Pharmacists, dentists, nurses, midwives and physiotherapists

Pharmacists and dentists sit the same oral two-part exam before the Federal Ministry commission. Nurses, midwives and physiotherapists sit it before a cantonal commission. The FBiH regulation names pharmacy and dental degrees directly. For RS and for midwives and physiotherapists, the rules have not been verified here, so ask the ministry.

Exams across the jurisdictions

Language and recognition routes

The official languages are Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, which are mutually intelligible. Foreign graduates need nostrification of the diploma by a Bosnian faculty and a working command of the language. There is no automatic EU route, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is a candidate country, not a member.

The steps for foreign diplomas differ by entity and by profession. Ask the relevant ministry for the current list of documents.

Preparing for an oral exam in a divided system

First find out which commission you will face and obtain the programme for it. Then prepare to answer aloud, in structured form. Spend time on the general part: health law, the organisation of the health system and patients' rights vary by entity, and the questions follow the local law.

Last reviewed October 2026