BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 28. Azerbaijan will make
the certification exam question bank for healthcare professionals
publicly available and introduce a new digital application,
Minister of Health Teymur Musayev said in a joint interview with
Azerbaijan Television’s “Hadaf” program and Trend News Agency.


The minister said the move is part of broader efforts to improve
the professional development of medical workers and enhance the
quality of healthcare services in the country.


According to Musayev, the certification process for healthcare
professionals should not be viewed as a punitive measure or a form
of pressure, but rather as a mechanism aimed at supporting
continuous professional development: “You are absolutely right.
This issue had been widely discussed within the medical community
for a long time. The position of the Ministry of Health has always
remained unchanged. Our main objective is to ensure that healthcare
professionals working in Azerbaijan have access to proper
continuous medical education, create opportunities for ongoing
professional development and, ultimately, guarantee the delivery of
high-quality medical services to our people and citizens.”


“The certification exam itself is not a form of punishment,
pressure or a burden. Of course, there are people who feel anxious
about taking exams or experience psychological difficulties, and we
understand this,” he added.


The minister noted that despite extensive discussions
surrounding the certification process, the pass rate among
healthcare professionals remained high. “Even during the period
when discussions among healthcare professionals were at their most
intense, the pass rate for the certification exam stood at 97%. In
other words, the public debate was much louder than the actual
issue itself. However, conducting an exam every five years allows
us to assess a person’s knowledge and skills, but it does not allow
us to improve them,” Musayev said.


He added that the Ministry of Health has introduced an
additional option allowing medical professionals to obtain
certification through continuous professional development. “The
Ministry of Health, as a central executive authority, and guided by
the need to take necessary measures to protect the health of
citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, introduced a new
initiative. As you know, amendments were recently made to the Law
of the Republic of Azerbaijan ‘On the Protection of Public
Health’,” the minister said.







“Under these amendments, in addition to the certification exam
held once every five years, every doctor or healthcare professional
will have the opportunity to choose another pathway. They will also
be able to obtain certification by collecting no less than 250
credit points within five years under the Continuous Professional
Development program,” he added.


Musayev said the Ministry of Health regularly updates the
certification exam question bank by adding modern approaches and
information on new treatment methods. “The question bank is
regularly updated by the Ministry of Health. It includes more
modern approaches and information on contemporary treatment
methods. A new digital solution will also be introduced in this
area soon,” he said.


According to the minister, a dedicated application will be
launched for specialists who prefer taking the certification exam
instead of collecting professional development credits due to their
workload. “For specialists who do not have the opportunity or time
to collect an average of 50 credit points annually due to their
intensive workload, a special application will be introduced for
those who prefer to take the exam,” Musayev said.


“The entire question bank will be available in this application.
There is nothing to hide here. Knowledge should not be concealed;
on the contrary, it should be promoted and shared. The question
collection will include the correct answer to each question, along
with an academic explanation. As a result, people will be able not
only to see which answer is correct, but also understand why that
answer is correct, with a full academic explanation, without the
need to search for additional literature,” the minister said.