Anerkennung: English

Andreas Westerfellhaus: Encouraging appeal to all nurses to get vaccinated

„To clarify at the outset: when it is my turn to be vaccinated, I will of course get vaccinated. I live in a multigeneration home and want to protect everyone, including my elderly mother. One thing is clear: the more people are vaccinated, the fewer hosts the virus finds. And the more difficult the conditions for the virus to spread.

And, I am sure that most caregivers also have this insight and get vaccinated. Because vaccination is the only chance to a quick end of the pandemic and thus the best protection for people in need of care. Based on current knowledge, about 95 out of every 100 vaccinated people are protected from disease. Moreover, we have rightly stipulated that the elderly as well as people who have contact to others who are particularly at risk from Covid-19 due to their occupation should be vaccinated first. As the Federal Government’s Caregiver Representative, I thus appeal to all caregivers to get vaccinated.

Concerns that the accelerated approval process is not as safe are unfounded. Certainly, more educational work needs to be done here. Everyone should know that the accelerated approval procedure should not be confused with the emergency approval procedure that has been carried out in some other countries. Before the vaccine was approved for marketing in the EU or Germany, it had to be safe, effective and well-tested. This was established with the approval. Good information on this can be found, for example, on the website of the Robert Koch Institute or at www.zusammengegencorona.de, a site of the German Federal Ministry of Health.“

Andreas Westerfellhaus is the Federal Government’s Caregiver Representative, was himself engaged as an intensive care nurse for many years, and is an advocate for the rights of nurses. His appeal can be found on www.pflegebevollmaechtigter.de and in the Rheinische Post.

Die deutschsprachige Version des Appells finden Sie hier.

 

In Eight Months Straight to the German Medical License

All’s well that ends well: that was the motto for the physician who came to Germany from a Non-EU country to complete his specialist training in internal medicine.

The start was anything but easy. To obtain a visa, apply for the German medical license, and achieve the necessary German and medical language proficiency, he relied on a recruitment agency that cost him almost his entire fortune. He paid over 20,000 € for this assistance and the promise that he would definitely pass the medical language test in Germany. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

He was lucky after all. He contacted the German Employment Agency (“Agentur für Arbeit”), which drew his attention to the seminar “Qualifizierung für Klinik and Praxis” of the mibeg-Institut. After a short forerun, he was admitted to the seminar.

He took part in an information seminar of the mibeg-Institut on February 5, 2019 and once again received a detailed consultation regarding the recognition of foreign medical degrees. He was admitted to the seminar “Qualifizierung für Klinik and Praxis” and started on March 11, 2019. On August 15, 2019, he passed the medical language test conducted by the State Chambers of Physicians (“Landesärztekammer”) and successfully graduated from the seminar on September 27, 2019.

Shortly after the seminar the medical knowledge test was scheduled, which he successfully passed on November 6, 2019 at the University Hospital Münster. As one of six examinees he was the only graduate of our institute, and unfortunately also the only one who passed successfully.

Now he has several options to choose from to start his specialist training as an internist in a rural region in the Rhineland. Yesterday we were able to talk to our happy graduate and congratulate him sincerely for managing everything so well and so quickly despite the difficult start. His gratitude also goes to his job agency, which supported him so well and made it possible for him to participate in the seminar through public funding.

We publish the story of this physician also because it seems essential to draw attention to the increasing negative practice of recruitment agencies, dubious course providers and so-called recognition assistants, who are primarily interested in collecting high fees. For applicants from abroad it is often difficult to see whether they have a serious offer coming up or not. We always point to anerkennung-in-deutschland.de or make-it-in-germany.com. However, among the providers, who charge extremely high fees for language courses abroad or for support regarding the recognition, are also some that have been active in Germany for quite some time and are listed on various public websites. Simple and clear execution of the application process by the competent registration authority is the only reliable way to contain this business practices.

Dieser Blogbeitrag auf Deutsch »

Attaining the German medical licence (»Approbation«) for foreign physicians

Attaining the German medical licence (»Approbation«) for foreign physiciansThe mibeg-Institut Medizin has developed an overview of the approach by foreign physicians to gain the german medical license (»Approbation«). You can download a copy here or ask for a poster size print by e-Mail.

Das mibeg-Institut Medizin hat, unterstützt durch juristische Expertise, ein Poster erstellt, das aus dem Ausland kommenden Ärztinnen und Ärzten den Weg zur Approbation aufzeigt. Zahlreiche Arbeits- und Anerkennungsberater haben es seit Anfang 2017 angefordert und nutzen es. Das Plakat ist aktuell wieder verfügbar und kann kostenfrei in A1 und A4 von Arbeitsberater/innen und Anerkennungsberater/innen sowie von Krankenhäusern angefordert werden. Eine kurze E-Mail genügt.

Das Poster ist in deutscher und englischer Sprache verfügbar, die Übersetzung in weitere Sprachen ist in Vorbereitung.

 

Free e-learning support to prepare for the medical language and knowledge test: eDocTrainer

eDocTrainer is an extensive collection of medical-clinical cases from all medical disciplines in German. If you want to improve your medical knowledge or terminology skills, you will find a large number of interesting medical cases and information on diagnostics and therapy, which is free of charge.

The very well-organized e-learning program has been developed by physicians for medical colleagues, who want to deepen and expand their knowledge. We recommend it to all foreign physicians preparing for a medical language or knowledge test (at home and abroad without additional costs or fees).

At the same time, it is a good alternative to e-learning offers provided from course providers, who sometimes charge high fees for these types of online learning units.

» Dieser Blogbeitrag auf Deutsch

Foreign nursing professionals: repayment obligation of training costs only with valid contract

According to a recent judgement of the Arbeitsgericht (Labour Court) Siegburg (file number 1 Ca 1987/17 dated 02 August 2018), the repayment obligation of an employee’s training costs previously granted by the employer as a loan must be effectively contractually regulated. This is pointed out by the Press Service of the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Justice in the context of the employment of foreign nursing professionals.

A Filipino national had been recruited as a nurse by a German company. The company operates a care facility. The foreign nurse first had to complete a German language course and a specialised nursing course. The costs for this, allegedly €12,900, were initially paid by the employer. They were to be repaid in monthly rates of €400, irrespective of the fact whether the nurse would actually get a job.

The nurse was given a job, but only for ten hours of work per week at a gross salary of €530. In addition, the nurse should perform »Schattendienste« (»shadow services«) in which he should accompany experienced nurses free of charge.

The foreign nurse now claimed the salary for a 40-hour week from the employer in a lawsuit, because in his opinion he had performed a full job over this period and not only, as suggested, was active for learning purposes. The employer denied this, filed a counterclaim and demanded repayment of the entire loan amount instead.

With the judgement of the Arbeitgericht Siegburg both claims were dismissed. The court pointed out that, on the one hand, the applicant could not provide exact evidence of the actual number of working hours and, on the other hand, the defendant could not submit an effective loan agreement.

»Such a contract unfairly disadvantages the employee if it does not correspond to the standards which the Bundesarbeitsgericht (Federal Labour Court) sets for repayment agreements on training and further training costs. Accordingly, a repayment agreement, which is also agreed in the case that the potential employer is unable or unwilling to offer the potential employee a job adequate for training, is generally invalid. In addition, in the opinion of the Court, the total amount to be paid of just under €12,900 was not broken down and the exact cost composition was not clear. Uncertainties about the amount to be repaid generally lead to the invalidity of such a repayment agreement. The judgement is not yet final. An appeal against the judgment may be lodged with the Landesarbeitsgericht (Regional Labour Court) in Cologne.«

» Dieser Blogbeitrag in Deutsch