Our health care system
In Slovenia we have compulsory health insurance – meaning every citizen is insured and will not have to pay for his treatment, but will receive a receipt at the end so he will know how much his treatment has cost. Along with basic you can also get an additional private health insurance which covers extra treatments and some medicaments, but the need for a private insurance is very low, as it is prohibited by law to make a difference in the treatment of patients depending whether they have an additional health insurance or not. So all necessary treatment and medication is covered by the public health system. Public health system is run by the state and is mostly financed from taxes.
In Slovenia we have mostly public hospitals, but the private sector has started to evolve in the last couple of years and we expect that there will be more private clinics and hospitals due to a shorter waiting time.
Our medical education
After graduating from high school with good matura resolute (equivalent to SAT, A levels, Baccalaureate) you enroll in medical faculty. After this, the curriculum lasts for 6 years. The first three years are mostly preclinical studies, followed by 3 years of clinical studies. At the end, there is a practical part – rotating through the departments lasting 6 months after which we need to choose a specialization that lasts from 4 to 6 years.