Practising in Botswana after training abroad: what the BHPC expects

Medical and health education in Botswana

The University of Botswana School of Medicine, opened in 2009 and produced its first graduates in 2015, so the country is still in the early years of training doctors at home. Before that, the government sponsored students to study overseas, mainly in Cuba, Russia, South Africa, Uganda, India and Australia, and many still do. Nursing and midwifery are trained in degree programmes at the University of Botswana and in diploma programmes at Institutes of Health Sciences across the country. Pharmacy and dentistry are small programmes, and many professionals in those fields also qualified abroad.

Instruction at home is in English. A Botswana-trained medical graduate completes a supervised internship, commonly twelve months, in government hospitals before full registration. Foreign graduates, including Batswana returning from Cuba and Russia, face verification of their degree, the internship and, according to our data, a possible council assessment.

The link between graduation and registration is therefore the council. The university grants a degree; the BHPC decides who joins the register.

Who needs a licensing exam in Botswana

Our data does not show a single national MCQ licensing exam in Botswana. The picture is of registration by recognised qualification, supplemented by council assessments for graduates of schools the council does not know well.

• Locally trained doctors register after internship.
• Foreign-trained doctors may be asked to sit a BHPC assessment. Unverified.
• Foreign-trained nurses may be asked to sit a Nursing and Midwifery Council exam. Unverified.
• Midwives, pharmacists, dentists and physiotherapists register through the BHPC on the basis of a recognised qualification, with possible local assessment for foreign graduates.

The foreign-graduate question

For Batswana trained in Cuba or Russia, the practical question is not whether Botswana has an exam but whether you will be asked to sit one. Councils in the region differ widely: some register graduates of listed universities automatically, others test everyone who trained abroad. Because we could not verify Botswana's current rule, treat the process below as a method for finding out, not as a confirmed route.

1. Write to the BHPC registrar with your degree, university, graduation year and country of training.
2. Ask three questions: is an assessment required for my qualification, what does it cover, and when is the next sitting?
3. Request the syllabus or past examination format in writing.
4. Arrange verification of your degree directly from your university, if the council requires it.
5. Apply for internship placement through the Ministry of Health once the council confirms your category.

Nurses and midwives

The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Botswana keeps the register for both groups. Local graduates register with their qualification. Our data states that foreign-trained nurses may sit a council exam, but it does not describe the format. If you trained abroad, ask the council whether a competency assessment applies and whether a period of supervised practice is expected. For nurses planning to move on, the NCLEX-RN route to the United States is a separate process, and our United States page explains it.

Preparing for a council assessment

Without a published blueprint, the safest preparation is to match the local disease pattern and guidelines. Botswana has one of the largest HIV treatment programmes in Africa, so prevention of mother-to-child transmission, antiretroviral regimens and monitoring are standard content. Add tuberculosis, malnutrition, trauma including road injuries, diabetes and hypertension. Learn the Botswana standard treatment guidelines and national protocols, and practise explaining plans to patients in plain English.

• Refresh the clinical areas that were taught lightly in your foreign programme, often maternal care, paediatrics in a district hospital setting, and infectious disease.
• Practise single-best-answer questions if the assessment is written, and structured case presentations if it is oral.
• Study professional ethics under Botswana law, including confidentiality in HIV care.

Costs, timing and paperwork

Returning graduates often underestimate how long registration takes. Degree verification from a university abroad can take weeks, and some councils want the document sent directly from the institution. Translations of Russian or Spanish transcripts may need to be certified. Start these steps before you leave your overseas programme, if you still can.

• Keep originals and certified copies of the degree, transcripts, internship records and proof of identity.
• Ask the council for the fee schedule: application, assessment if any, registration and annual practising certificate.
• Ask the Ministry of Health how internship places are allocated and whether sponsored graduates have a placement guaranteed.
• Plan a financial buffer for the months between return and first salary.

A graduate who has been away from clinical work for a year or more should also plan a refresher period. Shadowing in a district hospital before an assessment is practical, and it teaches the referral pathways and local forms that no foreign course covers.

Exam comparison

Language and recognition

English is the official language and Setswana is the language of daily conversation. If you trained in Spanish or Russian, expect to need extra practice with English clinical terminology and with the spoken stations of any assessment. Botswana belongs to SADC, but there is no automatic recognition of a Botswana licence in South Africa or Namibia, and the reverse also holds. A graduate who wants to move on after registering should check the destination council.

Our Namibia and Cuba pages give a useful comparison, since Namibia runs a formal board exam for similar graduates and Cuba trains many of the Batswana who come home.

Last reviewed October 2026