Status: 08.01.2023 12:07 p.m
The Marburger Bund describes the planned increase in medical study places as a “drop in the ocean”. Health Minister Lauterbach is calling on the federal states to take action so that the baby boomer generation can be well cared for.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is calling on the federal states to quickly create more medical study places, as tens of thousands of doctors will retire in the next few years. “We cannot make up for this deficit by poaching poorer countries for urgently needed specialists there,” said the SPD politician to “Bild am Sonntag”.
“If we don’t increase the number of medical school places by 5,000, we won’t be able to provide adequate care for the baby boomer generation in the near future,” added the minister. A hospital reform would also make “little sense if we later lack the doctors for the clinics”.
One in five doctors is about to retire
According to the federal government, around 11,600 students start studying medicine in Germany every year. There are a total of around 75,000 medical students, of whom more than 7,700 are enrolled abroad.
In 2021, a total of 416,120 working doctors were registered with the state medical associations. According to the German Medical Association, however, one in five of them is about to retire.
Bavaria is planning more medical study places
And an expansion of medical study places is hardly progressing. Only Bavaria is planning a significant increase, according to a survey by the newspaper in all federal states. According to the Ministry of Science in Munich, “in the coming years” 2,700 new medical study places are to be created there.
At the University of Oldenburg, there are plans to increase the number of study places from 120 to 200. The Berlin Senate Department for Science stated that 19 additional medical study places are to be created at the Berlin Charite this year. Most other countries are not planning any growth for this year.
“The countries must act now”
As early as May last year, the German Medical Association called for the number of study places to be increased by 6,000. The Marburger Bund also warned of the lack of medical study places. The planned growth is “just a drop in the ocean,” said Susanne Johna, Chairwoman. “Even if you increase now, the race against time can hardly be won,” she explained, referring to the six-year course and at least five years of specialist training.
Support also comes from the German Medical Association. “The countries must act now,” demands President Klaus Reinhardt in the newspaper. “But the faculties are afraid of a loss of quality in teaching if they educate more and more students without additional funds.” Since medical studies are very expensive for the federal states, Reinhardt proposes that the federal government provide money for the expansion of medical study places.