Background 

KL was a registered nurse working in Latvia, a Baltic country of the European Union, when an opportunity to work in the Mediterranean island of Malta intrigued him. His response to the recruiter advert started a journey to work in a position of scrub nurse in the operating theatres of Malta's premier private hospital. The recruitment process was fast and straightforward with no requirement to take examinations or jump through regulatory hoops. EU qualified nurses, and those from the UK, are eligible for registration with the Council for Nurses and Midwives of Malta.

Referred to as the "nurse of the Mediterranean", Malta has a long reputation for outstanding healthcare and is currently ranked fifth globally by the World Health Authority.

Discussion 

Q: What are the advantages to working as a medical professional in Malta? 

KL Well, the first advantage I noticed when I came here to Malta was that, since I am a European resident, I got a free booster vaccine, so I can easily say that the St. James Group takes good care of its employees. The second would be that the tuition from the colleagues’ side is very organised, and from time to time there is a progress review with the theatre manager and your direct tutor – in my case it’s the head nurse that’s responsible for the scrub side. The employees have free lunch from the hospital canteen, which is a big bonus, and also coffee in the mornings with some snacks. The salary is paid as per contract at the end of every month, I see this as an advantage, and lately there has been a rise in pay for on call cases. 

Q: What does your current work schedule look like and what are your career prospects in Malta? 

KL: Now, mostly I’m scrubbing for general surgery cases - laparoscopic cases, hernias, breast augmentations, haemorrhoidectomies, ENT cases, they also have dental cases, for these the scrub personnel does not need to scrub, since they have their own team, and the same is for ophthalmic cases. Regarding orthopaedic surgery, they have a whole team of scrubs, and I think I won’t be scrubbing for orthopaedic cases anytime soon, because at the moment I have to master general surgery. Besides, they got new orthopaedic nurses from India just last week, but that does not stop me from popping into the ortho theatre! 

Once per month I work at the endoscopy ward, and sometimes I’m also scrubbing for another theatre on the 2nd floor at St. James Hospital, which is nice for having a bit of diversity. If staying in Malta long term one could obtain a fully registered nurse certificate if working as a nurse full time for two to three years. 

Q: What is the lifestyle in Malta like? How does it compare to, for example, the UK?

KL: Living in Malta is quite calm, and everything is very near to the location where I live. At first this seemed slightly unusual for me, however, now I’m used to it and quite like it. With the salary being fairly close to UK’s I could say I can manage to save up a quarter of it at least, of course that depends on the type of things or food that one would buy. 

Summary

• The ease of professional registration for European and UK trained nurses and midwives makes Malta a promising location for candidates looking for jobs overseas.
• The high standard of healthcare in Malta makes for an excellent learning opportunity
• Remuneration packages are comparable to European averages, probably slightly lower than the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Sweden but higher than those offered in the Baltic states and those of Eastern Europe.
• Malta has a warm climate all year round for those seeking to escape from harsh north European winters.
• Private hospitals in Malta are often family businesses which treat employees as extended family members creating a strongly supportive culture

Candidates interested in finding medical or nursing positions in Malta may register a CV and contact us to discuss a job search. Advertised jobs can be viewed on our website and applications made by uploading a recent CV.