10 Things You Need To Know To Become A Doctor In Germany

It is clearly known for medical students that the medical professions are of high demands around the whole world, particularly Europe, especially at rural cities, the countryside and small towns. This article will shed light on some details about how you can be able to practice medicine in Germany, medical residency in Germany for non-Eu citizens and the Approbation in Germany. Though qualified doctors are highly required, but there are many restrictions, conditions, documents, examinations and regulations that need to be fulfilled before thinking about becoming a medical practitioner there.

How to become a doctor in Germany?

• You have to study the German language and pass C1 level in medical German and B2 level in the general German language.
  
  
• If you carry the nationality and medical degree of any of these EU, EEA countries and Switzerland, that will grant you a full license to practice medicine in Germany.
  The EU member countries are (UK- Sweden- Spain- Slovenia- Slovakia- Romania- Portugal- Poland- Netherlands- Malta- Luxembourg- Lithuania- Latvia- Italy- Ireland- Hungary- Greece- France- Finland- Estonia- Denmark- Czechia- Cyprus- Croatia- Bulgaria- Belgium- Austria and Germany), or EEA which include the EU countries in addition to (Iceland-Liechtenstein and Norway)

• If you need to study medicine in Germany it is not that hard, even if you are a non EU student, you can apply directly to the universities via the (Uni-Assist) as the international students’ office, they will evaluate your qualifications according to the database as they leave from 4-6% spots available for foreign students. High grades in subjects related to medicine such as biology and chemistry is highly required in addition to the high total academic achievement due to the high competition to ensure your acceptance at one of the medical programs.
  
  
• To study at German public universities the fees are lower than most other countries but to be able to apply for the study visa, you have to prove that you can support yourself there, which requires around 8000 Euros per year.
  
  
• You can contact (DAAD) German academic exchange service to see if you meet the German requirements or to check for the available scholarships that match your academic achievement.
  
  
• In order to work you have to apply for the EU blue card; it is more like a highly classified work permit that has many benefits which has been created to encourage qualified people from non EU countries to come work in Germany.
  
  
• If you cannot apply for the blue card for any reason, you can still try to apply for a work permit, it requires a longer time in a more complicated process but eventually you will get the same rights of the blue card and it is considered a widely used and valid permit to be a German resident.
  
  
• Applying for medical license which is issued by the German medical council, and is called “approbation” but in order to apply you have to get a job offer first.
  
  
• If you have a non-European medical degree, you have to evaluate your medical qualifications and that might take years, so with having a job offer you can apply for temporary medical license that gives you the right to practice medicine and get paid till you get evaluated by the state, and within this time you can work or continue your study or even do both.
  
  
• You have to take assessment tests and equivalency exams that will countervail your medical degree to become equivalent to the German qualifications, and this is a case by case review according to the similarity and differences of the medical curriculum at your country and Germany.
  

Best medical universities in Germany:

There are around 38 German universities that have best medical schools which provide a variety of study programs and they are top- ranked medical schools and offer a wide variety of medical degrees.

Tubingen university hospital; founded in 1805 and is considered one of the most prestigious and ancient of the 33 university hospitals in Germany and it is located in Tubingen


Freiburg university; public research university in Freiburg in Breisgau and it is among the largest university medical centers in Germany.


University in lubeck; it is a research university mostly concerned with medical science and health management located in Lubeck northern Germany.

Munster university ; a public university that is located in the north in the city of Munster

Heidelberg university ; located in Bergheim and is one of the largest medical centers in Germany.



Tests that need to be taken to get the German medical license ”Approbation”:

1- If your academic grades don’t match the German qualifications you might be required to stay in a one-year preparatory course by the university.

2- Some medical schools set an evaluation test for some particular medical study programs in order to approve your admission.

3- M1( pre- clinical stage): it is a written and oral test that is concerned with physiology, biochemistry and anatomy, it is held during the first 2 years at the medical school to test the academic development.

3- M2( clinical science stage): it is a written exam related to cases and practical skills and it is after 3 years of the M1 test.

4- M3(the final clinical year): oral and practical exam, which is considered the final state exam at the 6th year of study.

Those tests take over 6 years that is how many years will it take to become a doctor in Germany, and they are for medical students or trained doctors in order to get their approbation.

But for foreign doctors who has temporary German license they should take

5- a clinical -practical test within 2 years in order to get their full license, and that is how to become a medical physician in Germany.


Why will you want to practice medicine in Germany?

What is the salary of a doctor in Germany?


Despite the hard work you have to do to study medicine at one of Germany prestigious universities or to make your degree equivalent to the German qualifications, you will find that becoming a doctor in Germany is so worthy of your efforts as Germany is one of the countries that gives the highest salaries for doctors. According to years of experience doctors get promoted at hospitals and salaries rise up.

There are 3 stages with different averages:

Assistant doctors earn around 65000 euros per year.

Specialists earn around 80000 euros per year.

Chief physicians earn around 250000 euros per year.

The average vary according to the specialty, years of practice and experience, whether doctors are meeting what is expecting from them and can handle their responsibilities and workload, but eventually the average is high even for starting doctors.