Burgas is getting a new training post for a specialist in infectious diseases. The post opens on September 1, 2026, one of 14 new posts announced under a project to train specialists in areas and fields short of doctors.

That brings the fifth round of the project to 255 posts in total. It started on July 1, 2026, with 240 posts, 165 of them for doctors in areas with the biggest shortages and 75 in fields short of specialists nationwide. Two of the new posts are in child psychiatry, and one is in neonatology in the Montana area.

A post in infectious diseases has also opened in each of Sofia city, Blagoevgrad, Pazardzhik, Lovech, Plovdiv, Yambol, Veliko Tarnovo, Kardzhali, Targovishte, Ruse and Smolyan.

Everyone accepted gets a monthly top-up worth 2.5 times the minimum wage on top of their pay.

So far 46 people have applied under the fifth round. After the July selection, 30 candidates were approved — 23 will train in fields short of doctors in specific areas, and seven in fields short of specialists across the whole country. Contracts are now being signed with them. Applications stay open until February 28, 2027.

The project covers doctors, dentists, nurses and midwives. After four main selection rounds and three rounds to fill posts left vacant, 353 contracts have been signed in total. Training runs in 54 specialties at 62 hospitals and clinics, with Kyustendil the only area with none. For nurses and midwives, 17 new training sites have been set up for hands-on practice after they finish their studies.

Health ministry figures show more interest in child health specialties and in training for fields short of doctors in individual areas and less developed regions. The list of which specialties and areas face shortages has been updated twice.

102 trainees have gained higher qualifications, 35 of them in the southwest region and 67 in the other five regions. The project was presented as a good example to European Commission officials at the "Prof. Dr. Ivan Mitev" specialist children's hospital in Sofia.