Abstract
With the continuing shortage of physicians in Germany, healthcare is increasingly being sustained by foreign physicians. The present paper addresses the comparability of medical education curricula in Germany and Poland and the qualification of physicians having Polish exams and specialist medical training for clinics and practices in Germany. The Medical Licensing Act and the Model Specialty Training Regulation of the German Medical Association were compared to the respective Polish regulations for medical education. In orienting surveys, physicians with Polish exams were questioned and they provided information regarding their current situation in German healthcare. Based on educational criteria, physicians with Polish exams and specialist training are well suited to work in medicine in Germany. They receive theoretical education comparable to that of German physicians; practical education during specialist medical training is more extensive in Germany. The survey could yield that Germany, as a job market, is very appealing for physicians with Polish exams. The primary reasons for this are better opportunities for training as well as better compensation. The solicitation of physicians equates to an economic loss for Poland. Nevertheless, the solicited physicians benefit from working in Germany. The European Union lacks common, detailed European standards for medical education.
Highlights
The present paper addresses the comparability of medical education curricula in Germany and Poland and the qualification of physicians having Polish exams and specialist medical training for clinics and practices in Germany
In order to find out how physicians with a degree from or specialist medical training in Poland are suited for clinics and practices in Germany, the educational curricula in Germany and Poland were compared and contrasted with the framework conditions of EU Directive 36/2005/EC
The requirements and content of medical studies are described in extensive detail in this regulation regarding basic medical education: 1) General requirements: Studies shall last a minimum of 12 semesters and 5700 classroom hours and have a practical profile
Summary
Of the Polish physicians working in Germany, the largest share, or around 70 per cent, worked in hospitals (BAEK, 2015). Structural complications in an underfunded healthcare system, poor labour conditions, as well as belowaverage wages in their own country are crucial reasons for the emigration of Polish physicians (Kolodziejska et al, 2012). EU Directive 2005/36/EC presents the basis of recognition of European foreign medical degrees and is originated in Coordination Directive 75/363 from 1975 (EU-RL, 2005; EWG, 1975). It describes broad framework conditions of medical education and training, on the basis of which degrees are equated. The question arises as to how foreign physicians can meet the German standard of quality in healthcare and whether or not qualitative equivalence can be assumed on the sole basis of the EU directive
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