Every eighth doctor in Germany is a foreigner. A total of 60,000 is their number in the country, which continues to experience a hunger for qualified health personnel. What problems do these people face on the ground?
Germany is becoming increasingly popular among foreign doctors. Their numbers are growing - really good news for the country, which is struggling with a shortage of medical personnel. According to data from the Federal Medical Chamber, there are currently around 60,000 doctors working in Germany who do not have German citizenship - almost 12 percent of the medical staff. The largest number of foreign doctors arrived in Germany from other European countries or from countries in the Middle East, with the largest group coming from Syria, followed by Romania, Austria, Greece, Russia and Turkey.
Before doctors from other countries can start working in their specialty in Germany, they must obtain a medical license, for which they need to go through a strict and rather complicated procedure. It also includes two exams in German: the first is on general language knowledge, the second - professional German for doctors.
Many believe that the licensing process is so complicated that doctors who want to work in Germany need extra help - otherwise the German healthcare system could suffer. “Doctors should not be treated like cheap labor - they must be integrated as quickly and efficiently as possible," the executive director of the Chamber of Physicians in the Rhineland-Palatinate state Jürgen Hoffart told DV.
Why does Germany need foreign doctors?
International health organizations are warning that the health shortage is so acute around the world that being able to find a doctor nearby could soon become a luxury in many countries. The shortage of doctors is particularly felt in low-income countries: in them, the ratio of one doctor per 1,000 people recommended by the World Health Organization is often not met.
In Germany, according to official data, there are five general practitioners per 1,000 people. He will say that for now there are enough doctors in the country, but their number is rapidly decreasing and very soon Germany will feel a shortage of qualified personnel for health care - similarly to many other countries in the EU. The problem is getting worse because of the aging of the population, which will need more and more medical care. At the same time, there is no one to replace the retiring doctors, which puts an additional burden on those employed in health care, especially in the public sector.
In 2023, 41 percent of general practitioners in Germany and 28 percent of medical staff were over 60 years old. According to forecasts, between 5,000 and 8,000 doctor's offices are to be closed in the next three years - those working there will retire. And the graduates of the medical faculties of the German universities are not enough to replace the retiring doctors. The only short-term solution that can ensure the functioning of the health system at the same level is the attraction of doctors from abroad.
What can doctors from abroad count on in Germany?
„In Germany, all medical staff, including foreigners, are trusted and valued," Dr. Fabri Beka from Kosovo, who has worked in Germany for more than 18 years, told DV. “My opinion is that foreign doctors are motivated people, ready to learn and deal with the challenges that appear in the healthcare system."
According to Beka, Germany gives them the opportunity to combine work and personal life, as well as to increase their professional qualifications. “The healthcare infrastructure in Germany is much better than in many other countries, including Kosovo. For doctors, this is an opportunity to work with more modern equipment and develop professionally," he says. According to him, however, "foreign doctors often have to work in the Emergency Department or in hospitals where the workload is relatively higher.
However, foreign doctors have to put more effort into their professional development than their local colleagues, Beka emphasizes. In this sense, foreign specialists do not receive the necessary support, he is categorical. For example, foreigners need more time to open their own clinic or office than their German colleagues - mainly because of the peculiarities of German legislation. “Germany only recognizes basic medical education, so if a doctor wants to practice in Germany, he has to go through training in his specialty again", which means additional years of training.
What problems do foreign doctors face in Germany?
Meanwhile, many patients complain that they do not always understand foreign doctors because they do not speak enough German. “I have repeatedly received inquiries from patients if I can recommend them a hospital where the doctors speak pure German," says Jürgen Hoffart, who breaks down this criticism. “I constantly receive medical conclusions which - even partially - are very difficult to understand." The language tests that doctors from abroad have to deal with in order to get a license focus on standard German, but this does not help them understand local dialects and accents, adds the representative of the Chamber of Doctors in Rhineland.Palatinate.
From a study carried out in 2016 by the University of Munich “Ludwig Maximilian", it is clear that many migrant doctors face the language problem as well as certain integration difficulties - with insufficient knowledge about the culture and how it is organized the medical system in Germany. Another study published in 2022 by the University of Basel shows that many migrant medical workers, including nurses and doctors, face linguistic, national, racial and ethnic discrimination.
The doctor from Kosovo, Fabri Beka, who works in Germany, tells DV that he has not noticed any problems with the integration of doctors and their ability to learn the language: “In my opinion, most doctors learn the language quickly. Also, even if you speak German well, there are always patients who do not speak German, ie. the language barrier is a problem not only for doctors.
Jürgen Hoffart believes that one way to solve the communication problem is for experienced German doctors to take care of their new colleagues from abroad and provide them with detailed information about the German health system and the peculiarities of life in Germany.