Dominican Republic: the exequátur route and the ENURM residency exam

Medical and health education in the Dominican Republic

Medicine in the Dominican Republic is a long degree, usually about six years including a rotating hospital internship (internado), and the language is Spanish. Around ten to twelve universities teach it, including the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) and several private universities. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MESCYT) approves institutions and programmes, and the Ministry of Public Health regulates practice. Dentistry, pharmacy and nursing are four- to five-year degrees.

After the degree, doctors do a compulsory period of social service (pasantía) in the public network before they receive their licence to practise. Professional titles are formally authorised by an exequatur, an official permit issued by the state, and doctors normally also register with the Dominican Medical College (CMD). We could not verify a national licensing exam. The country is also a medical-school destination for students from the United States, the Caribbean and elsewhere, mainly in Spanish; those students should confirm with their home regulator, whether a Dominican degree qualifies them for home licensure.

A medical-school destination as well as a health system

The Dominican Republic has a feature that its neighbours lack: a large community of foreign students, many from the United States and the Caribbean, studying medicine in Dominican universities. That shapes the exam picture. A student in Santo Domingo or Santiago may be thinking about ENURM for a local residency, or about the exams of a country they will return to. Both groups appear on this page.

The licensing mechanism itself is administrative. The Dominican system asks for a degree and a document called the exequátur, rather than a pass in a national test.

Who needs a licensing exam in the Dominican Republic

The exequátur

The exequátur is the state authorisation to practise a regulated profession. In the health fields it is granted through the Ministerio de Salud Pública, once the title has been legalised by MESCYT. For a locally trained graduate the process confirms the degree and issues the authorisation. For a foreign graduate, MESCYT legalisation of the foreign title comes first, and the ministry then handles the exequátur.

In practice, the document chain is the work. Expect to supply the diploma, transcripts, identity papers and often an apostille or consular legalisation, plus certified Spanish translations for foreign-language documents. We have not verified fees or processing times.

1. Complete the degree at a recognised institution.
2. Have the title legalised by MESCYT, which is mandatory for foreign titles.
3. Apply for the exequátur through the Ministerio de Salud Pública.
4. Join the relevant professional association if your field requires it, and apply for posts.

Doctors: ENURM

ENURM (Examen Nacional Único de Residencias Médicas) is the multiple-choice exam used for entry to residency. It is administered with the Ministerio de Salud Pública and CONAREM. We have not been able to verify the number of questions, the time allowed or the scoring rules, so take them from the notice for the current call. Doctors who studied in Dominican universities, including foreign students, are the main candidates.

Because ENURM governs access to specialty training, it ranks candidates, and place availability varies by specialty and hospital. As elsewhere in the region, planning second and third choices before results is sensible.

Preparing for ENURM

A residency exam tests applied clinical knowledge across the main specialties: internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, plus public health and emergency care. The best preparation is steady practice with clinical vignettes, followed by a careful review of every error. Because a national call can attract candidates trained in different systems, include Dominican public-health priorities in your revision: dengue and other vector-borne disease, maternal and neonatal health, hypertension and diabetes, and the national vaccination schedule.

• Learn the format of the current call as soon as it is published, then adapt your timing.
• Practise in Spanish even if your course was taught in English, because the exam and the clinical work are in Spanish.
• Keep a dated record of your results in practice sets so you can see which specialties are lagging.
• Prepare your document set at the same time, because residency applications require the exequátur or proof that it is in process.

Foreign medical students: two exams to plan for

A foreign student at a Dominican medical school usually has a second destination in mind. They may intend to return home and take that country's exam, or stay and apply for a Dominican residency. The two goals pull in different directions. The home-country exam is built on the home country's guidelines, and the Dominican one on local practice. Decide early, because your elective choices, clinical rotations and study time all depend on it.

Nurses, midwives, pharmacists, dentists and physiotherapists

None of these professions needs a licensing exam in our data. Each follows the same degree and exequátur path. If you are a foreign-trained professional, the key variable is whether MESCYT recognises your institution. Professional associations exist for each field, and they are a practical source of advice about hospital hiring and local practice, though they do not set entry exams that we know of.

Language and students from outside

Dominican health care runs in Spanish. A foreign student in a Dominican medical school may study in Spanish or in a programme taught in English, depending on the university. Clinical rotations with patients are in Spanish regardless. If you will go home after graduating, remember that the exam you need may be elsewhere: students from the United States typically target USMLE, while Caribbean students may look at regional routes. Those are covered in the pages of their own countries.

Exam comparison

Where to check the rules

The Ministerio de Salud Pública and MESCYT hold the authoritative requirements. TriagePass is independent of both, and nothing here is regulator advice.

Last reviewed October 2026