Lidia Skurat, Registered general nurse

My story

„For me, recognition means the start of a new chapter in my life. I'm able to work in my profession and I'm fully integrated.“

Make up for 1460 hours' practice and swot up on a load of specialist German vocabulary—these were the sobering findings of the recognition procedure for Russian registered general nurse Lidia Skurat. “My theoretical diploma was certainly fully recognised but practically I had much to catch up on in the areas of surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry and outpatient care.” The single mother rose to the challenge. “I had already achieved so much in my life and wasn't going to let this get the better of me.”

Lidia Skurat came to Germany in 2013 for personal reasons. Her husband's family had already been living in eastern Westphalia for 15 years, which made this new beginning slightly easier for her. Lidia Skurat also wanted to become professionally established in Germany, particularly in the field in which she had trained. Lidia Skurat had obtained a nursing diploma from a medical college and had already worked for several years in the paediatric surgery ward of a hospital.

But in Germany she was not permitted to work without official recognition as a registered general nurse. Helped by her advisor at the job centre, Lidia Skurat applied for recognition of her certificates to the Düsseldorf district government. Because of the missing practical elements in her training, she was not able to receive certification of full equivalence. At the start of a successful compensation measure to compensate for substantial differences between the Russian and German training, Lidia Skurat received support in the form of a language course in order to improve and consolidate her knowledge of the German language. After a short while she achieved level B2 on the CEF (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages).

“I then completed an adaptation period.” Lidia Skurat completed her practice-based hours of learning in an Essen hospital. The mibeg Institute of Medicine based in Cologne specialises in the post graduate training of health sector specialists. It found the position for her and supported her fully over this period. To start with, an induction course provided Lidia Skurat with key information about the occupational profile and the legal framework. However, Lidia Skurat was also very glad of this specialist advice during the adaptation period, for example the application training.

Almost two years after making the application, Lidia Skurat was holding the positive notice in her hands. Now she is an officially recognised registered general nurse. The 36-year-old now also has a permanent position in the hospital and is looking positively towards the future: “This is a new chapter in my life. The recognition enables me to live, work and earn money in Germany like an ordinary person.”

The interview was conducted in September 2017. She received advice and support with her recognition from the job centre as well as from the mibeg Institute of Medicine via IQuaMed. IQuaMed is part of the support programme “Integration through Training (IQ)” in North Rhine-Westphalia. In collaboration with clinics and trade and technical schools, IQuaMed supports those seeking recognition in the area of regulated medical occupations in Cologne and at numerous locations in North Rhine Westphalia.

My procedure in brief