2024-03-01 16:33:18
Austrian Medical Association: Such a regulation would reduce the pull from other countries on medical graduates in Austria.
Vienna/Brussels (OTS) – Setting an EU-wide quota of minimum study places per EU member state, as proposed today by Education Minister Martin Polaschek in Brussels, is very welcome from the perspective of the Austrian Medical Association (ÖÄK) – especially with regard to medical studies in Austria and urgently necessary. “We train more than enough doctors in Austria to meet our own needs. This is what all of our internal calculation models show. But especially in Germany, where far too few doctors are trained, the graduates are ‘sucked out’ – which is why many Germans come to us to study with us and then go back again,” explains ÖÄK President Johannes Steinhart. “Therefore, specifying how many minimum study places each country has to offer itself would be an effective brake on this effect.”
“The solution proposed by the Minister of Education corresponds to a long-standing demand of the Austrian Medical Association, namely that each country must train as many doctors as it needs and not rely on other countries – and that a pan-European strategy for offering medical study places is urgently needed “, emphasizes Harald Mayer, Chairman of the Federal Curia for Employed Doctors (BKAÄ). “This could ultimately lead to us being able to reduce the proportion of those who study with us but never take up the medical profession in Austria – this is currently around 30 percent. This would make Austria’s training performance and the use of tax money significantly more efficient, and every person in this country benefits from this. After all, we urgently need doctors!”
Polaschek’s idea that a country that exceeds its commitment to minimum study places, as Austria currently does for medical studies, receives compensation payments is also well received by Steinhart and Mayer. The same applies to the proposal that only those interested in the EU who would have received one in their home country can get a place to study in Austria.
“This should also significantly reduce the pull on graduates in Austria from other countries,” expects Mayer, who at the same time mentions another aspect: “But this discussion also shows how pointless the idea that keeps coming up again and again is to have even more medical study places in Austria – some even dream of a doubling – to demand. We already have enough graduates – we just have to get them into the Austrian healthcare system.”
The current ranking of the best clinics in the world by the US news magazine Newsweek and the data provider Statista also underlines how important the topic is, says Mayer. With the AKH Vienna University Hospital (25th place), the Innsbruck University Hospitals (53rd place) and the Graz University Hospital (73rd place), three Austrian hospitals made it into the top 100, with the Kepler University Hospital Linz (114th place) just behind. “And despite this impressive achievement, we have to worry about the emigration of our young doctors – that shows how deep the problem is,” says Mayer. Polaschek’s initiative is therefore absolutely worth supporting.
Questions & Contact:
Austrian Medical Association
Mag. Thorsten Medwedeff
public relation
+43 1 514 06-3314
t.medwedeff@aerztekammer.at
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