Residency Requirements

1. Other than that which is stated in regulation 10, a candidate must undergo residency according to the provisions of this chapter and be examined in accordance with the provisions of chapter 5. 

Order of residency

2.    

a. Residency shall be performed through full-time, continuous work in a recognized institution, including the requisite number of on-call duties stipulated by the Council for that specialty, under the guidance and supervision of a specialist in that field.

b. deleted

c. deleted

d. One of the first two years and the final six months of the residency shall be performed in the main specialty unless stated otherwise in these regulations.

e. A resident in a sub-specialty in which the course of residency is 2-1/2 years may include in this period a period of six consecutive months of residency performed in this field as a secondary field, during the course of the main specialty.

f. deleted

g. A physician wishing to undergo residency in a sub-specialty, but who is not a specialist in one of the main specialties required as a prerequisite for that sub-specialty, shall not begin such residency until he has received confirmation from the Scientific Council regarding the completion of periods of residency in the various fields, as per the Council’s request.

Period of residency

3.    

a. A period of residency shall be as designated in column B of the Appendix, alongside the desired title.  In addition, the residency shall include 6 months in a basic science, the subject and content of which the Council has approved in advance.

b. A candidate for a title in a field recognized as a basic science must add to the residency designated for that field an additional six months of residency in another basic science, unless stated otherwise in the Appendix.

c. A sub-specialty is one of the following fields listed in the Appendix: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,12a, 32 (track a only), 35,36,37,38,39,41,43,44,45,46,48,49,50,51,52,53,54 (tracks 1-5 only), 55, 56. Residency in a subspecialty shall be performed only after completing the title in the relevant main specialty, or in conjunction with it, if column B of the Appendix has a residency track allowing so.

C1. A period of residency in a sub-specialty shall be as designated in column B of the Appendix alongside the desired title.

d. The last 6 months of the internship year in a department accredited for residency in Israel in the fields of general surgery, pediatrics or internal medicine, shall be recognized, with the consent of the both the department head in the resident's main field and the resident himself, as the first six months of the residency in one of the aforementioned fields, provided that no more than six months elapsed between the end of the internship period and the beginning of the residency.

Continuity of residency

4.    

a. Continuity as stated in regulation 5 shall mean-

      i. In basic science - six consecutive months

      ii. In a secondary field - a period no shorter than that stipulated in the Appendix.

b. No interruption shall be allowed during or between the various stages of residency listed in regulation 7(a), above, unless it is in accordance with the provisions of regulation 7(c), below.

c. Notwithstanding the provisions of regulations 5 (a) and 7(a), the following interruptions shall be permitted:

d. An interruption caused by or resulting from the applicant’s service in the Israel Defense Forces, or by another reason over which the applicant had no control, subject to the approval of the Council chairman and the concurrence of the Director.

(1) An interruption for the purpose of undertaking a residency in a basic science or in a field mandatory for the approval of the title.

(2) An interruption for a maximum of one year, following a period of residency of at least two years in the main specialty, provided that the chairman of the Council has given his approval in advance and that the Director concurs.

(3) Deleted

(4) An interruption for the purpose of residency in public health after at least one continuous year of residency in a field other than public health, provided that such interruption is no longer than two years.

(5) An interruption for a period of no more than two years for research that includes a period of residency in basic science, and an interruption of no more than one and a half years for research, that does not include a period of residency in a basic science.

Non-recognition of residency

5. If the Council, or the professional advisory committee it has appointed for this purpose, does not recognize, in whole or in part, the applicant’s residency, such applicant shall not be eligible for examination until he completes an additional period of residency determined by the Council.

Exception with regard to the specialty certification of the supervisor

6. Despite the provisions of regulation 5, guidance and supervision may be exercised by an individual without specialty certification:

(1) If the supervisor is not a permanent resident of Israel and the Council has approved his guidance and supervision in advance.

(2) In non-clinical subjects-if the supervisor fulfills an academic-teaching role or if he has held an academic title no less than an M.A. or M.Sc. for at least 6 years. 

Requirement to complete a course in advanced life support

9a. 

(a)  A resident in one of the branches of residency specified in paragraphs 12, 12a, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 39, 40, 43 and 54 of the Appendix must submit to the Council a certificate of completion of a course in advanced trauma life support.

(b) A resident in pediatrics as specified in paragraph 9 of the Appendix and in emergency medicine as specified in paragraph 54 of the Appendix, must submit to the Council a certificate of completion of a course in advanced pediatric life support.

Exemptions from the residency requirement

(c) A resident in emergency medicine as specified in paragraph 54 of the Appendix, must submit to the council a certificate of completion of a course in advanced cardiac life support.

7. (a) At the request of the following physicians, the Director may approve specialty certification without their undergoing residency in Israel:

(1) Deleted

(2) An individual approved by the Council to guide and supervise candidates for specialization in a field of medicine in which, in the opinion of the Director, there is an insufficient number of specialists to supervise such candidates;

(3) An individual for whom a given specialization or a similar one has been approved outside of Israel, if the Council so recommends, and in accordance with the conditions it stipulates, including the requirement of examinations.

(b) Upon recommendation of the Council, the Director may recognize work performed wholly or partially abroad for purposes of residency, in place of residency, or part thereof, conditionally or unconditionally, including the requirements to pass Stages 1 and 2 examinations, or both; if the Director has so approved part of the work, the required period of residency will be shortened accordingly, but the inception of residency for purposes of these regulations is from the day the candidate begins residency or the period of completion of residency in the recognized institution.

(c) The following are not obligated to do a period of basic science in their residency:

(1) A graduate in one of the basic sciences;

(2) A candidate for specialization in one of the following: public health, clinical microbiology, clinical biochemistry, forensic medicine, occupational medicine, family medicine.

(3) One who has done clinical research of which the subject, content and performance has been approved in advance by the Council, for a period of at least 6 months. The clinical research shall be performed full time and consecutively unless the Council agrees that the research will benefit from being divided into two periods.

(4) One whose basic sciences in a previous residency was approved.