Hello
intelligent_poet and welcome to the forum!
Now to your questions:
1) Apart from Swedish language is there another exam I have to take in order to start the AT programe?
You state that you are a Swedish national, have you graduated from a Swedish gymnasium? If so, you may have taken the course Svenska 3, which allows you to skip the Swedish proficiency test. Read more at
https://www.socialstyrelsen.se/applicat ... ries/step2
2) How long roughly after having my qualifications recognised by socialstyrelsen do I wait for a spot in AT?
This depends on a bunch of stuff, roughly generalised to
(a) your merits and
(b) the popularity/competition at the hospital where you want to do AT.
With merits, I refere to work experience as
underläkare (junior doctor) - a position where you work as a doctor, prior to starting AT - and research experience. The latter is "only" relevant if toy apply for Forskar-AT (
https://www.slf.se/SYLF/SYLF-tycker/For ... Forskar-AT).
It is very common of Swedish graduates to work as
underläkare for a time, before securing a spot in the AT-program. The time spent working ranges from 6-24 months, with 19 being the national average. A rule of thumb is that the more popular the hospital, the number of months required increases. Of course, there are example of people being offered an AT-spot with little to no prior work experience, but in my humble opinion that is to be considered the exception to the rule.
3) What is the average time period between finishing AT and securing a residency post?
Your opportunity to start residency (ST) depends on
(a) what speciality you're interested in,
(b) where you want to live/work and
(c) when you want to start. Usually, you only get two of these three preferences accommodated. In the bigger hospitals it is pretty much standard to first work for a time (6-12 months) at the department you want to do residency in, in order for both you and your employer to get to know each other, before you are offered an official ST.
Of course, like with the AT, there are people with stellar merits (and sharp elbows?
), who even at University hospitals manage to secure a residency spot in competitive fields. As said earlier, this is the exception to the rule. At small to medium sized hospitals and/or in rural- or "
outer rim of the University hospital" areas, it is more common for people to during AT get offered a residency spot at a clinic you rotate at.
Summa summarum: if you're interested in a competitive field and/or work at a University hospital, expect to work some time before securing an official residency spot.
Luckily, the time spent working once licensed can under certain conditions be taken into account once you landed a residency post . Rest assure, once you're in the AT-program, there will be plenty of time to talk to your colleagues about this.
Best of luck, and please keep us posted on your progress!