Lack of German language skills of doctors in clinics

Inadequate language skills of foreign physicians are, according to the Association of Hospital Directors of Germany in the clinics nationwide, a growing problem that may endanger the health of patients. At its 122nd Annual General Meeting, the medical union Marburger Bund also criticized the „different requirements and procedures in the individual federal states“ proof of the required language skills of the medical profession.

06.11.2012

„Pain not good, take pills“, One way or the other, doctors repeatedly describe diagnoses to patients when they have little or no German language. However, because communication is fundamentally important for diagnostics, the Marburger Bund demands adequate language skills for physicians before they are recruited to clinics.

Not least because of the difficulties in filling vacant doctor positions, physicians from abroad are increasingly being acquired, especially in smaller clinics. These come from countries such as Egypt, Greece, Romania, Spain or Syria and in many places make an indispensable contribution to the maintenance of the clinic. So is „the proportion of foreign physicians has risen sharply at assistant level“ and reaches in many clinics already over 50 per cent, explained the president of the federation of hospital directors of Germany, Josef Düllings, opposite the news agency „dpa“. Although the physicians are generally good in their medical practice, many clinics would have already stopped them due to the acute need before having the required language skills. This might happen „to the security problem“ for the patients, Düllings continues.

Doctor-patient communication is an essential factor in any treatment, not least to avoid unnecessary health risks. For example, if the treating physician does not understand what his patient is reporting to him about existing allergies or existing pre-existing conditions, this can lead to significant, possibly even fatal problems in the course of the therapy. Sufficient knowledge of German should therefore be available to all doctors working in this country. However, smaller hospitals in particular are increasingly struggling with an acute shortage of doctors. For example, a recent survey by the Association of Hospital Directors among approximately 1,800 of its members found that just under half (49 percent) of general hospitals with less than 250 hospital beds considered the appointment of open doctor's offices to be very difficult. Even with the larger general hospitals, the situation was not much better. Overall, 37 percent of general hospitals are struggling with such difficulties, while at the university hospitals only seven percent have similar problems, reports the Association of Hospital Directors.

According to the Association of Hospital Directors, the acute shortage of doctors means that smaller hospitals, in particular, are increasingly using foreign doctors to maintain their operations. As long as the physicians have sufficient language skills, the recruitment of foreign doctors is clearly beneficial for the patients. However, not least because of the differences between the federal states regarding the language test required for issuing the license or the license to practice, language skills were not guaranteed equally everywhere, the delegates of the Marburg Federation also criticized at their 122nd general meeting.

According to the information provided by the Marburger Bund „many Länder vouchers from different domestic and foreign providers“ and „sometimes an oral interview with the authority is sufficient.“ In only one federal state is passed on the submission of a Goethe certificate or Telc certificate and in two federal states must be at least completed an oral special language examination in medical communication. „These different requirements and procedures in the individual federal states can not be substantiated substantively and legally“, the delegates of the Marburger Bund complained and added: „The resulting inconsistent and in many places poor language skills of foreign physicians lead to doubts about the continuous guarantee of patient safety.“

In view of the inadequate situation in the examinations to ensure the language competence of the physicians, the Marburger Bund demanded a recognized general examination of the medical profession before granting a professional license, „which is not more than three years old and at least reflects level B2 of the European Framework of Reference for Languages ​​(CEFR).“ In addition, the applicants should have completed a recognized language exam within the last three years before they can work in this country as a doctor, according to the requirement of the Marburg Federation. The members of the Conference of Ministers of Education and the Conference of Ministers of Health were invited to finally come to a common arrangement. The president of the Association of Hospital Directors also advocated creating more places for medical study in the individual federal states. (Fp)

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