The Latvian Congress of Physicians that meets every four years is the biggest forum of Latvian doctors. It was resumed at the end of the Soviet period in 1989 in Latvia and was initially called the First World Congress of Latvian Physicians. The name for subsequent events in 1993, 1997 and 2001 was changed to the ‘World Congress of Latvian Physicians’. It has now been decided to revert to its former name, ‘Latvian Congress of Physicians’ as used in the 1920s – 1930s.

The Congress aims at uniting physicians from all over the country as well as professionals elsewhere who feel they belong to Latvia, either having Latvia as their place of birth, education or as the country of origin of their family.

The Congress intends to examine the current status of Latvian medicine and the healthcare system. It also aims at discussing the rights and duties of nurses and other medical professionals and to discuss their place in the Latvian society. It seeks to look into the problems of professional development, maintenance of the quality of work, and other similar problems. The goal is to analyse the situation in the context of Latvia’s membership in the European Union and provide solutions to urgent concerns.

The 1989 and 1993 congresses attracted more than 3500 medical practitioners, while the 1997 and 2001 events boasted 2500 participants. The 2005 Latvian Congress of Physicians is expected to gather the same number of participants as the previous events. This is however, a pessimistic estimate. As the participation fees are largely to be covered by the State Agency for Mandatory Health Insurance and as the participation in the congress constitutes a substantial contribution to the qualification points necessary for the physician’s certificate, the number of participants might be higher.

More than 100 medical practitioners of Latvian origin from the United States of America, Australia, Germany, Sweden and Canada have traditionally attended the Latvian Congress of Physicians Among the best-known physicians are professors Kļaviņš, Kegi, Zariņš, Saltups, Vasariņš.

Organisers of the 2005 Congress are paying special attention to inviting Latvian émigré professionals of the second and third emigration waves. The event intends to attract the graduates of Riga Medical Institute (later the Latvian Academy of Medicine), who in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s emigrated from Latvia to Israel, the United States, Germany, Sweden and South Africa.

The 2005 Latvian Congress of Physicians will also have as participants many physicians and guest lecturers from a number of European countries.