Stradiņš Hospital Riga Careers, Salaries & Jobs

Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital (VSIA Paula Stradiņa klīniskā universitātes slimnīca) is a state limited company wholly owned by the state, with the Ministry of Health holding the shares.

It opened on 10 February 1910 as Riga City Hospital No. 2 and became a clinical teaching hospital of the University of Latvia in 1928.

The hospital provides emergency and planned care in more than 26 specialties. Its 2025 annual report records an average of 3,460 employees, 48,682 inpatients, 334,921 outpatient consultations, 61,788 surgical operations including 83 organ transplants, and 64,312 patients who received emergency care.

It hosts the Latvian Cardiology Centre and the Latvian Transplantation Centre with the National Transplantation Coordination Service, along with oncology, haematology, neurosurgery, a breast disease centre and a palliative care centre. In 2025 it expanded intensive care to an average of 143 beds, up from 92 in 2024.

For an internationally trained professional, Stradiņš is one of Riga's two largest hospital employers and one of the few in the region that quotes pay in its adverts. The 2025 report says recruitment remained challenging and describes a financially motivating programme to attract new staff. The route in, though, is Latvian: recognition of your qualification, registration with the Health Inspectorate and state language at C1.

Founded

1910 (opened on 10 February 1910 as Riga City Hospital No. 2)

Run by

Latvian state; the Ministry of Health holds the shares of VSIA Paula Stradiņa klīniskā universitātes slimnīca

Leadership

• Dace Žentiņa, Valdes locekle (management board member)
• Ģirts Ansons, Valdes loceklis (management board member)

Switchboard

+371 67069280

• Latvian Cardiology Centre

  The national cardiology centre is part of the hospital, and the hospital is also the methodological lead institution for cardiology in Latvia.

• Latvian Transplantation Centre

  Organ transplantation and the National Transplantation Coordination Service; the hospital performed 83 organ transplants in 2025.

• Oncology and haematology

  An oncology clinic, an oncology and haematology centre and a radiotherapy centre, which regularly advertise for doctors and nurses.

• Emergency medicine

  An emergency medicine centre with triage and a trauma point; 64,312 patients received emergency care in 2025.

• Neurosurgery and neurology

  Separate neurosurgery and neurology clinics within the hospital's clinics and centres.

• Intensive care

  An anaesthesiology and reanimatology clinic; the hospital provided an average of 143 intensive care beds in 2025.

• Breast disease centre

  A dedicated breast disease centre alongside the surgical and oncology clinics.

• Pauls Stradiņš Hospital does not publish an international recruitment programme, and its vacancies are advertised in Latvian. The nurse adverts we read in October 2026 list compulsory knowledge of the state language among the requirements, with other languages at conversational level only as desirable.
• The adverts do describe practical help: a staff hostel with an employee co-payment of €10 a night, health insurance after six months, free psycho-emotional support, and help applying to the European Social Fund Plus project for attracting and retaining medical practitioners for a one-off compensation of €10,701. Eligibility for that compensation is set by the project, not the hospital, so check whether it applies to you.
• The hospital's 2025 annual report says it introduced a financially motivating programme to attract new employees and ran measures aimed specifically at recruiting nurses. It does not name any recruitment agency.
• International applicants usually reach the hospital after recognition in Latvia. You submit documents to the Academic Information Centre, the Latvian Medical Association decides for doctors and the Health Inspectorate for general care nurses, and the Health Inspectorate then registers you as a medical practitioner.

• Recognition of your qualification. For qualifications from outside the EU, the Academic Information Centre (AIC) evaluates your documents and passes them to the deciding body: the Latvian Medical Association for doctors and dentists, the Health Inspectorate for general care nurses and the Latvian Nurses Association for midwives. The AIC says the decision is due within 6 to 12 months of a complete file, and an aptitude test or adaptation period of up to three years can be set.

• Registration. Nurse adverts require registration in the Register of Medical Practitioners, kept by the Health Inspectorate, which asks foreign-educated applicants for their recognition certificate and a state language certificate.

• Latvian at C1. Cabinet Regulation No. 157 places doctors, nurses, midwives and physician assistants at Latvian level C1, and the hospital's adverts make state language knowledge compulsory.

• Residence permit. The employer registers the vacancy with the State Employment Agency for at least 10 working days and submits a sponsorship request to the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (OCMA), and you apply for a residence permit with the right to work. A new Immigration Law took effect on 15 September 2026, so check current OCMA guidance.

1. 1

   Apply for recognition through the AIC

   Send your diploma and training documents to the Academic Information Centre, which forwards them to the Latvian Medical Association (doctors) or the Health Inspectorate (nurses).
2. 2

   Pass the Latvian test at C1

   The state language test is run by the State Education Development Agency. Non-EU citizens pay a €52 state fee.
3. 3

   Register as a medical practitioner

   Submit your recognition certificate and language certificate to the Health Inspectorate for entry in the Register of Medical Practitioners.
4. 4

   Find a post on the vacancies page

   Vacancies are listed at stradini.lv/lv/job-opportunities, filtered into doctors and specialists, nurses and care staff, and administrative roles. Each advert gives working hours, unit and pay.
5. 5

   Apply through the hospital's selection form

   Each advert has its own apply link and a phone number for questions. If no current vacancy fits, the vacancies page links to an open application form at atlase.stradini.lv.
6. 6

   Arrange your residence permit

   If you are not an EU citizen, the hospital as employer registers the vacancy and submits the sponsorship request before you apply for the permit.

• Internist, Internal Medicine Clinic (advert)

  €15.24 an hour base

  Advert gives an average of €3,000 to €3,300 gross a month, or €3,700 to €4,300 with on-call duties, plus seniority pay.

• Haematologist, oncology centre (advert)

  €15 an hour gross

• Nurse, cardiology department (advert)

  €9.15 an hour base

  Average from €1,842 gross for 168 hours, including night supplement.

• Physician assistant, emergency centre (advert)

  €9.35 to €11.00 an hour

• Certified doctor (Reg. 851, category 1)

  From €1,813 a month

  National minimum.

• Nurse (Reg. 851, category 3)

  From €1,189 a month

  National minimum.