Participants of the German Doctor Exchange program
Working in Germany as a doctor with a medical school diploma and professional experience gained at home is a tempting prospect. However, many are deterred by the lack of knowledge of the German language and the need to verify qualifications in accordance with German standards. At the same time, due to a shortage of personnel, German hospitals need foreign specialists. The organizers of the German Doctor Exchange (GDE) program have taken on the task of bringing employers and applicants together.
A win-win option
“On April 1, I started working at the hospital in the city of Neuss,” says neurologist Alexei Saranov from Volgograd. He was in the first batch of participants in the GDE program. The project started in 2012 and is carried out with the support of the Otto Benecke Foundation (Otto-Benecke-Stiftung). After a strict competitive selection of doctors (even without knowledge of German), they are invited to Duisburg (North Rhine-Westphalia), where they undergo intensive language training and prepare for the medical examination (Kenntnisstandprüfung). Those who pass it receive a work permit as a doctor in Germany and specific job offers at a German hospital.
The first group was recruited in 2014. “We started with Russia. In the second and third groups, there are participants from Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. In the fourth group, which will start training in February 2016, there are also participants from Ukraine,” explains program initiator Svyatoslav Aksamitovsky in an interview with Deutsche Welle. In the future, it is planned to expand the geography and recruit participants from all over the world.
The organizers take the selection of countries very seriously: to avoid an acute shortage of personnel in a particular region, they take into account the ratio of population to the number of doctors. The level of professional education is also important.
“It is known that the former Soviet system of training doctors is among the best in the world,” Aksamitovsky emphasizes. How do the countries themselves react to such a brain drain? “They only benefit from the transfer of knowledge. Many participants plan to return and apply the know-how they have acquired,” the program director is convinced.
A career on credit
Each time, about 50 people are recruited into a new group. The age limit is 35 years. “The older you are, the harder it is to learn foreign languages,” the manager explains. The organizers cover all expenses. “We provide a fully furnished apartment, a laptop, a mobile phone, pay for a travel pass, insurance, and give pocket money: 375 euros per month,” lists Svyatoslav Aksamitovsky.
However, this should be seen more as a loan. After employment, the doctor pays GDE a certain percentage of their salary each month. “This is a matter of individual negotiation. The repayment period can be extended up to a maximum of 72 months,” adds the program initiator. Exactly within this period (5-6 years depending on the specialty), a program graduate, working in a hospital as an assistant doctor (Assistenzarzt), improves their qualifications, which allows them to obtain the title of specialist doctor (Facharzt) in the chosen medical field.
Postgraduate training, and in particular, the attitude in the team during it, is another reason for the age limit for candidates. “If you, as an assistant doctor, say, at the age of 45, are undergoing postgraduate training, then in a team of 30-year-olds you will no longer be taken seriously,” Svyatoslav Aksamitovsky is convinced.
April 1 – a happy date
In total over four recruitments, according to him, more than four thousand applications were submitted. First, you need to upload a package of documents on the program's website. After that, you have to take an IQ test online. “For me, this test was the most difficult. About a minute is given for each task. A total of 30 minutes,” recalls Leonid Belan, a specialist in vascular surgery from the city of Tchaikovsky in the Urals.
Based on the results, in early March 2015, he was invited to the Assessment Center in St. Petersburg, where he had to undergo a number of other tests to check his intelligence and foreign language learning abilities. In addition, psychologists analyzed the candidates' ability to work in a team. “We had to imagine that we were sent to a subtropical country where an earthquake had occurred, and we had to set up a field hospital, deciding within half an hour who is responsible for what,” says Leonid Belan.
“But the most crucial stage, for which you have to be psychologically prepared, is an individual interview with two German professors,” adds her GDE program classmate, ophthalmologist Ekaterina Grebenyuk. Worldview, hobbies, reasons for choosing medicine, work experience – the conversation helps to understand how serious the candidate is about participating in the program and whether they can work in the German healthcare system. “I found out the results of the interview on April 1,” laughs Ekaterina. “My first reaction: that's it, I need to get ready. For me, this is a very good opportunity.”
The main thing is language
Now Leonid and Ekaterina are preparing for the final exam to confirm their qualifications. Behind them are months of intensive preparation. At the academy in Duisburg, participants study everyday and medical German. “In essence, you have to learn two languages – for communication with patients and fellow doctors,” explains the Russian woman. Classes are held in groups of 10-15 people. An individual approach is also actively used. Six hours a day, five days a week plus several hours of independent work at home every day – the schedule does not allow you to relax. “The focus of the program is precisely language training,” emphasizes academy director Tino Kessler-Thönes in an interview with DW. “During an interview at a hospital, the first impression of a candidate will depend on knowledge of the language.”
Language courses last on average seven months. The final goal is level C1. This is followed by two months of lectures and individual classes to prepare for the qualification exam, which allows three attempts. According to Tino Kessler-Thönes, about 5 percent of program participants fail this exam on the first attempt, but everyone passes on the second.
After passing the exam, for three months doctors are introduced to the specifics of the German healthcare system, economic and legal aspects, as well as computer programs used in German hospitals.
To work – in the provinces
In total, after about a year, the candidate is ready to start working. By cooperating with hospitals across the country, the program organizers monitor the labor market situation and offer several job vacancies to choose from. Primarily in the provinces. «The level of training and attitude are the same everywhere. Small hospitals are preferable,» says Svyatoslav Aksamyitovsky. «There you have the opportunity to start working with patients sooner and thus acquire the necessary knowledge.»
Alexey Saranov, now a doctor in Neuss, can confirm this. «At the level I work here, in a provincial hospital, it seems to me that even in the capital they don't work at this level,» says the specialist with seven years of experience. The only difficulties were with documentation and working with the electronic system. «As for communication with patients, it's somehow even easier here. Despite being a foreigner, they look at doctors with more respect than is currently the case in our homeland,» compares the neurologist. «And the attitude in the team is very friendly. Even if difficulties arise, the department head shows patience.»
According to the organizers, German hospitals are eager to employ foreign doctors. «In rural regions, there are hospitals where the share of foreign doctors is 80 percent,» notes academy director Tino Kessler-Thönes. While German graduates flock to megacities, avoiding the provinces, participants of the GDE program are eager to work in any region of Germany.
«It makes sense»
High earnings also serve as good motivation. «I am very satisfied with the salary at our hospital, even considering that I just started. Moving to Germany and working as a doctor – that definitely makes sense,» summarizes Alexey Saranov.
For those who want to see for themselves: applications for the next competition are now open. Candidates must register on the program website: http://www.germandoc.com/ru By December 31, 2015, candidates can take an online test. The second selection round – participation in the Assessment Center – will take place in March 2016 in Moscow.