University Hospital Bratislava Careers, Salaries & Jobs

Univerzitná nemocnica Bratislava (UNB) is a state contributory organisation founded by the Slovak Ministry of Health. It succeeded the Faculty Hospital with Polyclinic Bratislava and has used its current name since 1 July 2010.

Its 2024 annual report calls it the largest healthcare facility in Slovakia.

UNB is made up of five hospitals: Nemocnica Ružinov, Nemocnica akademika Ladislava Dérera on Kramáre, Nemocnica sv. Cyrila a Metoda in Petržalka, Nemocnica Staré Mesto and the Specialised Geriatric Hospital in Podunajské Biskupice. The 2024 report gives 1,747 beds, 1,445 doctors and 1,832 nurses and midwives among 5,779 staff, and about 61,000 completed hospitalisations a year.

It is the main teaching base for the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University and the Slovak Medical University (SZU) in Bratislava, so many of its clinics carry the name of one of the two faculties. National services include the transplant centre and the National Toxicological Information Centre at the Dérer hospital.

For an internationally trained applicant, UNB matters because of its size and its stated nurse shortage: the 2024 report says the year was again marked by a shortage of nursing staff, and that its nursing, human resources, accommodation and legal teams worked together on hiring applicants from third countries. All clinical work is in Slovak, so you follow the national recognition route before you can practise independently.

Run by

Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic (state contributory organisation)

Leadership

• Alexander Mayer, Director of UNB (Riaditeľ UNB)
• Ján Kozák, Deputy Director for Health Care, Ružinov Hospital (Námestník pre zdravotnú starostlivosť Nemocnice Ružinov)
• Igor Tibenský, Deputy Director for Health Care, Ladislav Dérer Hospital (Námestník pre zdravotnú starostlivosť Nemocnica akad. Ladislava Dérera)
• Róbert Lámala, Deputy Director for Health Care, St Cyril and Methodius Hospital (Námestník pre zdravotnú starostlivosť Nemocnice sv. Cyrila a Metoda)
• Vladimír Kostka, Deputy Director for Health Care, Staré Mesto Hospital (Námestník pre zdravotnú starostlivosť Nemocnice Staré Mesto)
• Peter Kuka, Deputy Director for Health Care, Podunajské Biskupice Specialised Hospital (Námestník pre zdravotnú starostlivosť Špecializovanej nemocnice Podunajské Biskupice)
• Marta Baričičová, Deputy Director for Nursing (Námestníčka pre ošetrovateľstvo)

Switchboard

+421 2 48234 111

• Transplantation

  The transplant centre at the Nemocnica akademika Ladislava Dérera, plus the Clinic of Nephrology and Kidney Transplantation of the Comenius University Faculty of Medicine and UNB. UNB is licensed for organ, tissue and cell retrieval and transfer to recipients.

• Clinical toxicology

  The National Toxicological Information Centre (Národné toxikologické informačné centrum) is run by UNB at the Dérer hospital.

• Neurosurgery and spinal surgery

  The Neurosurgical Clinic is based at Kramáre, and the annual report describes UNB's orthopaedic surgeons as pioneers of navigated and robot-assisted spinal surgery in Slovakia.

• Infectious diseases and HIV care

  The Clinic of Infectious Diseases and Geographical Medicine and the centre for the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients are at the Dérer hospital.

• Gastroenterology

  A gastroenterology centre operates at the Nemocnica akademika Ladislava Dérera alongside several internal medicine clinics.

• Obstetrics and gynaecology

  UNB has three maternity units, run by the first and second obstetrics and gynaecology clinics among others, and says it helps deliver an average of 22 babies a day.

• Ear, nose and throat and cochlear implants

  The first cochlear implantation in Slovakia was carried out at the Nemocnica sv. Cyrila a Metoda in Petržalka; UNB marked 30 years of the programme in 2024.

• UNB's careers page does not describe a formal international recruitment programme, and its job adverts are in Slovak and do not mention foreign applicants. Its 2024 annual report, however, says that in 2024 its nursing processes department, nursing management, human resources, accommodation and legal services worked together on recruiting job applicants from third countries and supporting those already employed.
• According to that report, the help covered advice on the options and conditions of work at UNB, help applying for recognition of education, help preparing for the supplementary professional exam, letters promising employment and accommodation for the foreign police, online applications to the labour office for confirmation that a vacancy can be filled, and communication with the labour office and the foreign police.
• UNB says its recruitment in 2024 focused mainly on nurses: it attended eight recruitment events and advertised 154 vacancies for 16 health professions and 23 non-health professions on three job portals. Several current nurse adverts offer a one-off recruitment bonus (for example €4,000 for a general nurse post and €10,000 for one anaesthesia and intensive care nurse post, as listed in October 2026). Check the advert for any conditions attached.
• UNB also offers discounted accommodation in hospital housing for staff, according to its job adverts, which matters if you are relocating. It does not name any recruitment agencies, so the usual way in is a direct application to the human resources department.

• Recognition of your qualification: if you trained outside the EU, apply to the Centre for the Recognition of Diplomas (SUDV) at the Ministry of Education. Its first decision recognises your formal qualification; you then pass the supplementary exam and apply again for recognition of your professional qualification.

• Supplementary exam in Slovak: doctors sit it at the Faculty of Medicine of the Slovak Medical University in Bratislava; nurses with a bachelor's degree sit it at the university's Faculty of Nursing and Health Professional Studies. The exam has a written part and an oral part and is held only in Slovak.

• Temporary professional traineeship: with the first recognition decision you can work for a provider such as UNB under supervision for up to 18 months, without interruption, at one provider and only once. You give the employer a declaration that you know Slovak or English to the extent needed for the work, and the employer must notify the Ministry of Health.

• Slovak language: knowing the state language to the extent needed for your profession is a condition of practising. Passing the supplementary exam counts as proof; otherwise the Ministry of Health verifies your Slovak with a written and an oral test.

• Chamber registration: doctors register with the Slovak Medical Chamber and nurses and midwives with the Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives once they start work.

• Residence and work: non-EU staff usually need temporary residence for employment, based on a labour office confirmation that the vacancy can be filled, or an EU Blue Card. The Bratislava region shortage list for the third quarter of 2026 includes doctors without a specialisation, several specialist doctors, nurses without a specialisation and midwives, which removes the labour market test. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no permit.

1. 1

   Check the open posts

   Read the current vacancies on the UNB jobs page (unb.sk/pracovne-ponuky). Adverts name the clinic, the qualification needed, the starting basic pay and any recruitment bonus. Posts for doctors without a specialisation are open to new graduates.
2. 2

   Contact the human resources department

   Each advert gives a phone number and email address in UNB's human resources department. Ask whether the post can start as a supervised temporary traineeship and what help the hospital gives with recognition and permits, which its 2024 report says it provides to third-country applicants.
3. 3

   Apply for recognition with SUDV

   Send your diploma, transcript and an official Slovak translation to the Centre for the Recognition of Diplomas. Its stated processing time for third-country health qualifications is 2 months from a complete application.
4. 4

   Start as a trainee or prepare for the exam

   With the first decision, UNB can employ you under supervision as a temporary trainee for up to 18 months while you prepare for the supplementary exam in Slovak. Register with the exam venue at least 30 days before the date.
5. 5

   Sort out residence

   UNB applies to the labour office for confirmation that the vacancy can be filled and provides employment and accommodation letters. You then apply for temporary residence for employment, or an EU Blue Card, at a Slovak embassy or the foreign police.
6. 6

   Complete recognition and register

   After you pass the supplementary exam, apply to SUDV for recognition of your professional qualification, then register with the Slovak Medical Chamber or the Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives to practise independently.

• Doctor without a specialisation (UNB advert, 2026)

  From €2,286.00 a month

  Gross basic pay. UNB says the final salary is agreed at interview.

• Doctor with a specialisation (UNB advert, 2026)

  From €3,810.00 a month

  Gross basic pay, same advert.

• Nurse (UNB advert, 2026)

  From €1,524.00 a month

  Gross basic pay for a nurse with a secondary or university nursing qualification; some posts add a one-off recruitment bonus.

• Doctor without a specialisation (statutory minimum)

  1.50 times the average monthly wage

  Section 80a(1), Act No. 578/2004.

• Doctor with a specialisation (statutory minimum)

  2.50 times the average monthly wage

  Section 80a(2), Act No. 578/2004.

• Nurse (statutory minimum)

  1.00 times the average monthly wage

  Section 80ab(1); 1.05 for a certified activity and 1.10 for a specialist nurse.