Kazakhstan's trilingual healthcare exams: from internship to specialist certificate

Medical and health education in Kazakhstan

Medicine in Kazakhstan is a five-year undergraduate programme followed by a one-year internship (internatura), so qualification takes about six years. Around ten medical universities and academies train doctors, including Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University in Almaty, Astana Medical University, Semey Medical University and the South Kazakhstan Medical Academy. Teaching is in Kazakh, Russian and English. The Ministry of Healthcare regulates medical education and licensing, and institutions are accredited by independent agencies such as IAAR and IQAA.

Graduation links directly to a national exam. Interns sit an independent assessment run by the National Center for Independent Examination, with a two-stage format (multiple-choice and clinical cases), before they receive a specialist certificate, and the score now counts toward residency ranking. Residency lasts two to three years in most specialties. English-medium programmes attract students from India, Pakistan and elsewhere, and these graduates take their own countries’ licensing exams on return: the FMGE in India (its planned successor NExT has been deferred), the NRE in Pakistan. Check your regulator’s recognition list and the question of an internship before enrolling.

Three languages, one examiner

Most exams in this region run only in the national language or in Russian. Kazakhstan is one of the few exceptions that matter for international students: the NCIE lets the intern choose Kazakh, Russian or English, and publishes English test specifications for General Medical Practice and Dentistry. That is the single biggest reason to look closely at this country.

The second distinctive point is the link between exam and career. From 2026 the intern assessment feeds half of the residency ranking, with the other half drawn from GPA. A weak assessment cannot be hidden behind good grades, and the reverse is also true. Places are allocated on residency.kz.

Who needs which assessment

• Interns finishing medical training (6th and 7th year): independent assessment of interns.
• Dentistry interns (7th year): the same two-stage format.
• Practising doctors, including foreign-trained specialists: certification of specialists, a route to the certificate needed to practise.
• Nursing graduates (college, applied bachelor, academic bachelor): graduate assessment, and certification of mid-level staff.
• Pharmacy graduates and practising pharmacists: graduate assessment and pharmacy certification.

Doctors: the intern assessment

Format. Stage 1 has 100 multiple-choice items: A-type single-best-answer questions plus about 10 per cent linked case items (F-type). It lasts 150 minutes, and the pass mark is 50. Stage 2 has five clinical cases, each with five items, in 90 minutes, with a pass mark of 50 per cent. Specialties covered: General Medical Practice, Paediatrics, Therapy, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Paediatric Surgery.

Language. Kazakh, Russian or English at the candidate's choice. The English specification for the 7th-year General Medical Practice assessment is on the NCIE site.

1. Read the specification for your specialty. It lists topics and weights.
2. Register through your university. Interns are put forward by their institution.
3. Choose your language when you register.
4. Sit Stage 1. 100 MCQs in 150 minutes.
5. Sit Stage 2. Five cases in 90 minutes.
6. Enter residency allocation. The result carries 50 per cent weight from 2026.

Practising doctors: certification of specialists

The NCIE lists "certification of doctors and mid-level staff" and an assessment of professional competence, plus self-assessment tests. The format for each specialty is set by the NCIE specialty specification, and the record we hold says testing plus practical skills. We did not open every specification, so the exact number of items and the pass mark for certification should be taken from the specialty page. Foreign-trained specialists seeking a Kazakh certificate are routed here.

Nurses and midwives

The NCIE runs independent assessment for graduates of colleges, applied bachelor programmes and academic bachelor programmes in nursing, and certifies mid-level staff. The format is testing plus practical skills in the OSCE style. Midwifery graduates (Акушерское дело) are assumed to fall under the college-graduate assessment and mid-level certification, but the specialty listing needs confirming. Specialty-level specifications were not opened.

Pharmacists

The NCIE offers a pharmacy graduate assessment and a separate stream, Сертификация фармации, for certification. The content is MCQ plus skills. Format details were not opened, so treat the structure as a starting point and confirm the item counts on the pharmacy page.

Dentists

Dentistry interns in the 7th year sit the same two-stage assessment as doctors: Stage 1 of 100 MCQs in 150 minutes, Stage 2 of five cases with five items each in 90 minutes. An English specification for Dentistry is published, and candidates choose Kazakh, Russian or English.

Physiotherapists

No dedicated physiotherapist licensing exam was identified. Rehabilitation in Kazakhstan is mainly a physician residency specialty (физическая медицина и реабилитация), and bachelor-level rehabilitation specialists may fall under the NCIE bachelor assessment. This is unverified; ask the NCIE which category applies.

Exams at a glance

How the two stages differ and how to prepare

Stage 1 rewards breadth. A hundred questions in 150 minutes gives 90 seconds a question, which is generous for single-best-answer items but tight once the linked case items appear. Practise reading a case stem once and answering several questions from it. Stage 2 rewards structure: five cases with five items each means a short chain of decisions per patient, typically from interpretation of findings to diagnosis, investigation and management.

The NCIE publishes test specifications by specialty and course year. Use them as the syllabus, not a reading list. For each topic, check the weight, and spend your time in proportion. Avoid third-party question sets that claim to be actual recalls; the specification is the legitimate guide to content.

If you plan to sit in English, check that your own course taught in English and that your textbooks use the same drug names and units as the specification. Small mismatches, such as trade names or reference ranges, cost marks in a timed paper.

What we could not confirm

Three items are open. The detailed certification format for practising specialists, the specialty listing for midwifery, and the exact route for physiotherapists were not verified when this page was prepared. Contact the NCIE or read the specialty pages on qazexam.kz before you commit to a plan. We would rather say that plainly than guess.

Language and recognition

English is available for the intern assessment, but day-to-day clinical work in Kazakhstan is in Kazakh and Russian. A foreign-trained doctor seeking certification should expect to prove working Russian or Kazakh to communicate with patients, even if an English exam track exists for students. The NCIE site should be your first stop for the current rules on foreign-trained specialists.

Many international students at Kazakh universities plan to practise in their home country. If that is you, the NCIE assessment is a degree milestone and a ranking tool, and your home licensing exam still needs separate preparation.

Last reviewed October 2026