Professional licenceSpain

MIR — Médico Interno Residente

The national exam that allocates medical residency places in Spain. You cannot practise as a specialist without passing it and completing residency.

Official information

Who sits it: Medical graduates who want to specialise and work as doctors in Spain.
When it happens: After the six-year Medicine degree, usually sat in January.
Preparation time: 9 to 14 months of full-time preparation, usually with an academia.
How often: Once a year.
Cost: Registration is modest, but preparation courses commonly cost 3,000–6,000 EUR.

What the exam is like

A single multiple-choice exam of around 200 questions, many based on clinical cases and images.

Stage by stage

1
Register in the convocatoria published each autumn
2
Sit the multiple-choice exam in January
3
Receive your national ranking number
4
Choose your specialty and hospital in ranking order

How the mark is used

Your exam score plus your degree transcript give a national ranking. The lower your number, the earlier you choose — the competitive specialties go first.

Careers that need it

Anaesthesiologist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Cardiologist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Dermatologist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Emergency Medicine Doctor

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

General Practitioner

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Gynaecologist & Obstetrician

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Medical Doctor

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Neurologist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Oncologist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Ophthalmologist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Orthopaedic Surgeon

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Paediatrician

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Pathologist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Psychiatrist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Radiologist

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Surgeon

You need MIR to specialise and practise in the Spanish public system.

Pathways through this exam

Becoming a doctor in Spain

The full route, with no shortcuts hidden: Bachillerato de Ciencias, a very high EBAU mark, six years of Medicine, the MIR exam and four or five years of residency.