Study Field Outline:
Medicine is the science of the causes, cures, alleviation and prevention of diseases. Key medical activities cover the recognition (diagnosis) and treatment (therapy) of human diseases, ailments or physical disorders, preliminary and follow-up health care, and research.
The study of human medicine is governed by the medical practice and licence code for physicians. Since the winter semester of 2015/2016, studies at the medical faculties of Germany’s universities have been based on a reformed medical practice and licence code for physicians. This revised code above all aims to improve the practical training and to promote the social skills of doctors. Furthermore, greater consideration than in the past is given to the holistic view of the patient’s situation and takes an interdisciplinary approach to the treatment process. Prevention and health promotion are integrated as are pain therapy and palliative medicine.
Studies based on a reformed medical curriculum have been piloted at the Charité University Medicine Berlin, the private University of Witten/Herdecke, the Universities of Aachen, Bochum, Mannheim, Cologne and the Hannover Medical School (MHH), which partly abolishes the division between the pre-clinical and clinical study sections.
Physicians (medical doctors) work mainly as registered doctors in their own private practice, as well as in hospitals, clinics, sanatoriums, rehabilitation and (re-)convalescence centres and in the military as medical officers. Employment opportunities can additionally be found in teaching and research, in public administration (e.g. public health offices), in business and industry as company medical officers or works doctors, in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as in sports medicine. Besides the clinical field, medical doctors can also find interesting alternatives in other career fields which do not directly involve medical treatment, such as medical computing/informatics, hospital management, medical journalism, marketing and sales or environmental medicine. Additionally-acquired skills and qualifications, such as in business management and administration or computing, might be important.
Practical experience/internships:
Three months as a hospital nurse plus first aid training to be completed before studies begin or in the pre-sessional periods/recess, by the latest, before registering for the first part of the medical examination taken after four semesters of study (certain types of training may be credited). A four-month clinical traineeship/medical clerkship to be completed during the pre-sessional periods/recess between the first part of the medical examination and the practical year. This clinical traineeship/medical clerkship involves prescribed minimum training periods completed at various facilities (hospitals, clinics, medical surgeries, public health service facilities, etc.). Furthermore, practical exercises and block practical courses lasting between one and six weeks in the key medical fields must be completed. Finally, the last year of medical studies involves 48 weeks of continuous practical training, the practical year, which is completed in a hospital.
Studies:
In particular, the new medical practice and licence code for physicians that came into force in the winter semester 2003/2004:
- adapts the curriculum to take account of new requirements and standards in medical care. Besides delivering scientific principles, studies also address coordinating, general medical, pharmaco-therapeutical and health-management aspects;
- interlinks theoretical and clinical teaching by continuously combining theory and practice throughout the studies;
- delivers cross-disciplinary and case-related teaching with problem-orientated and interdisciplinary teaching of topic-related content with a patient focus;
- introduces new study and examination topics, such as pain therapy, palliative medicine, emergency and disaster medicine;
- provides practice-focused teaching at the patient bedside in the form of patient demonstrations in small groups with a maximum of six students and patient examinations with a maximum of three students;
- offers general medical training to improve students’ general medical and coordinating skills, clearly increases the proportion of general medicine in the studies themselves and in the examinations. In addition, students can choose to take general medicine as an elective in the Practical Year.
Medical Examination: The first part of the (state) medical examination is taken after two years of study. The qualifications gained in clinical subjects and interdisciplinary fields over the subsequent three-year study section are assessed by the universities on the basis of graded academic credits, i.e. the Transcript of Records. These credits are also the prerequisite for admission to the practical year made up of study sections lasting 16 weeks each in Internal Medicine, Surgery, General Medicine or in another clinical-practical subject area. The second part of the Medical Examination is taken after a total of 6 years of study.
The formerly required 18-month period as an Intern (Arzt im Praktikum) was abandoned with effect of 1 October 2004. So, after completing their studies, doctors can immediately take up an assistant or junior doctor position or can continue their training to qualify as a specialist.
Continuing training:
After receiving their medical licence, medical doctors can continue training and so gain qualification as a general practitioner or as a district physician in another area of specialisation.
Study in Germany 