Hiring nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists in Ukraine: qualifications, licences and martial law
Rules checked on 14 September 2026. Health-care rules in Ukraine change often — each section says where to check the current version.
If you run a clinic, a pharmacy, a rehabilitation centre or a health service for your own staff in Ukraine, the people you hire need more than a diploma. Their education decides which job title they may hold, state exams and continuing training are compulsory, and your business itself needs a licence for the work they do. Much of this has changed since 2021. This briefing sets out what applies today for three professions: nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists.
1. The licence comes first
- Medical practice — including nursing care and rehabilitation — may only be carried out by a company or individual entrepreneur holding a licence for medical practice. The licensing conditions set the staffing, qualification and equipment requirements the licensee must meet.
- Rehabilitation is provided by rehabilitation hospitals, centres and units whose medical-practice licence covers rehabilitation (Law “On Rehabilitation in the Field of Health Care”, Article 11).
- Pharmacies operate under the licensing conditions for the pharmaceutical trade, which set the education required of pharmacy staff and managers.
Placing health professionals with a client does not move the licence: the organisation where care is provided must be licensed for it. If you plan to use an employer of record or outstaffing, also read our briefing Outstaffing in Ukraine: no permit since 2022 — and the rules that still apply.
Check: Licensing conditions for medical practice (Cabinet Resolution No. 285), Licensing conditions for the pharmaceutical trade (Cabinet Resolution No. 929), Law No. 1053-IX.
2. Nurses
Education. Nurses train at three levels: professional junior bachelor (фаховий молодший бакалавр — the college level that replaced the former “junior specialist”), bachelor and master. Since 1 November 2024 the specialty is I5 “Nursing”. For college students, the training specialisations I5.01 “Nursing” and I5.03 “Midwifery” apply from 1 January 2026.
Job titles follow the education level. Since 27 September 2025 the Ministry of Health's list of health-care professions links nursing titles to the degree:
| Degree in Nursing | Job title |
|---|---|
| Professional junior bachelor | Nurse (сестра медична / брат медичний) |
| Bachelor | Nurse in autonomous practice |
| Master | Nurse in advanced practice |
The same order allows people with other qualifications to hold these posts where a professional standard or the qualification handbook provides for it — so existing staff with older diplomas are assessed against those documents rather than renamed automatically. Check the exact title before you issue a contract or hiring order.
Senior and chief nurses do not need a university degree. Under the Ministry of Health's qualification handbook:
- a chief nurse needs nursing education at college or university level, refresher training and at least five years' experience;
- a senior nurse needs college-level or bachelor's education in nursing, general medicine or midwifery and a specialisation in “Organisation of health care”; the second, first and highest categories also require a category certificate and more than five, seven or ten years' experience.
Check: List of fields and specialties (Cabinet Resolution No. 266), Ministry of Health Order No. 1065, qualification handbook, issue 78.
3. Pharmacists
Two levels, new names. Since October 2021 Ukraine's Classifier of Professions calls the university-level role фармацевт (pharmacist; formerly провізор) and the college-level role асистент фармацевта (pharmacy assistant; formerly фармацевт). Job offers and employment records should use the current titles. Since 1 November 2024 the specialty is I8 “Pharmacy”.
Who may do what under the pharmacy licensing conditions:
- Anyone who dispenses medicines or compounds them in a pharmacy needs at least a professional junior bachelor degree in Pharmacy. Staff with a master's degree in Pharmacy also need a pharmacist-specialist certificate or a document confirming their professional qualification, which master's graduates obtain through the compulsory internship.
- A pharmacy manager or deputy needs a master's degree in Pharmacy, a qualification in “Organisation and management of pharmacy” and at least two years' experience in pharmacy. Managers of pharmacy points (аптечні пункти) may have a lower level of pharmacy education.
- Specialists who have not worked in their specialty for more than five years may dispense medicines again only after retraining.
A new law is coming. The Law “On Medicinal Products” adopted on 28 July 2022 applies from 1 January 2027, with some articles later. Until then the 1996 law governs pharmacies.
Check: Licensing conditions, items 181–184, Law No. 2469-IX, Regulation on internship (Ministry of Health Order No. 1254).
4. Physical therapists
A statutory profession. The Law “On Rehabilitation in the Field of Health Care” lists the rehabilitation specialists: physicians in physical and rehabilitation medicine, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, prosthetists-orthotists, psychologists and psychotherapists, rehabilitation nurses, and assistants of physical and occupational therapists.
More than one degree qualifies. The qualification handbook accepts these routes — so do not reject a candidate only because the diploma does not say “Physical Therapy”:
| Role | Accepted education (handbook, issue 78) |
|---|---|
| Physical therapist | Master's level in health care, specialty “Therapy and Rehabilitation” or “Physical Therapy, Ergotherapy” with the diploma specialisation “Physical Therapy”; or master's level in health care, specialty “Physical Rehabilitation”; or master's level in “Physical Education, Sport and Human Health”, specialty “Physical Rehabilitation” or “Physical Culture” |
| Assistant physical therapist | Bachelor's in health care, specialty “Therapy and Rehabilitation” (specialisation “Physical Therapy”), “Physical Therapy, Ergotherapy” or “Physical Rehabilitation”; or bachelor's in “Physical Education, Sport and Human Health”, training direction “Human Health”; or at least college-level Nursing with the specialisation “Physical Therapy and Ergotherapy” |
| Physician in physical and rehabilitation medicine | Master's in Medicine, then internship and specialisation in physical and rehabilitation medicine |
Both therapist roles also require continuing professional development. No experience is needed for the role without a category; the second, first and highest categories require a category certificate and more than five, seven or ten years' experience. A bachelor's degree or a nursing qualification is enough for the assistant role, not for the physical therapist; and a physical therapist is not a physician.
When you screen, look at the actual diploma: level, field of knowledge, specialty and, where required, the specialisation — not only the title of the degree.
Check: Law No. 1053-IX, Article 10, qualification handbook, issue 78, items 27 and 56.
5. Exams, continuing training and attestation
- State exam. Students in health-care specialties pass the Single State Qualification Exam (ЄДКІ) to graduate. Its test components are called Krok: Krok M at college level, Krok B at bachelor level, and Krok 1 and Krok 2 plus a professional English exam in master's programmes such as Pharmacy. The Ministry of Health sets the pass marks; under its order of 2 November 2023 the pass mark for Krok M and Krok B is 42%.
- Continuing professional development (CPD) is compulsory: health workers collect CPD points every year under the Cabinet of Ministers' CPD regulation, with minimum points set by the Ministry of Health.
- Attestation of health workers follows a new procedure approved on 16 April 2025, which moves from qualification categories to qualification levels set by professional standards. Its attestation rules take effect six months after martial law ends; certificates that expire during martial law remain valid until then.
- Staff trained abroad in medicine, pharmacy or rehabilitation — including Ukrainians returning with foreign diplomas — may work only after the Ministry of Health has verified their professional qualification, unless a law or an international treaty provides otherwise.
Check: Single State Qualification Exam rules (Cabinet Resolution No. 334), pass marks (testcentr.org.ua), CPD regulation (Cabinet Resolution No. 725), attestation procedure (Ministry of Health Order No. 650), Fundamentals of Health Care Legislation, Article 74.
6. What martial law adds
- Women with a medical or pharmaceutical qualification who are fit for service must be on the military register (Law “On Military Duty and Military Service”, Article 1, part 11). For employers this means the same registration checks and notifications as for men liable for service.
- Military registration duties apply to every employer: check the registration document at hiring and notify the territorial recruitment centre of hirings, dismissals and data changes within seven days.
- Working abroad: men aged 23 to 60 may not leave Ukraine during martial law unless an exception applies.
- Reservation of key staff from mobilisation is possible only through an employer with critical-enterprise status.
Our briefing Employing people in Ukraine under martial law: military registration, reservation and mobilised employees explains these duties in detail.
Check: Law “On Military Duty and Military Service”, Cabinet Resolution No. 1487.
A hiring checklist for health-care employers
- Confirm that your licence covers the care the new employee will provide.
- Match the job title to the candidate's diploma: nurse, autonomous or advanced practice nurse; pharmacy assistant or pharmacist; assistant physical therapist, physical therapist or rehabilitation physician.
- Check the diploma's level, field, specialty and specialisation, the Single State Qualification Exam result and, where required, the specialist certificate or qualification document.
- For foreign diplomas, make sure the Ministry of Health has verified the qualification before the first working day.
- Record CPD points and plan time for training.
- Check military registration at hiring — for women with medical or pharmaceutical qualifications too — and notify the recruitment centre within seven days.
- Re-check the rules on 1 January 2027, when the new Law “On Medicinal Products” applies to pharmacies.
How ClarusApex can help
We recruit nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists in Ukraine. Marina Korytnyuk, our HR Director, answers questions on your hiring plans within one business day.
This briefing is general information, not legal advice for your case.
