Medical association calls for more medical study places
In order to stop the shortage of doctors in rural areas, the Lower Saxony Medical Association believes that the number of medical study places must be urgently increased. The rural doctor quota alone is not enough to counteract the shortage of doctors in the short term, the Medical Association told the German Press Agency in response to an inquiry.
"On the one hand, medical training and the subsequent specialist training take at least twelve years, which is why it is not yet possible to say whether the procedure has already proved its worth. On the other hand, this does not change the total number of study places, which urgently needs to be increased," said Marion Charlotte Renneberg, Vice-President of the Lower Saxony Medical Association. Renneberg also called for the working conditions for doctors to be improved.
The rural doctor quota provides for 60 study places in human medicine to be allocated by quota in Lower Saxony - 15 places per winter and summer semester in Göttingen and 18 places in Hanover and 12 places in Oldenburg for the winter semester only. This makes it easier for young people to study medicine if, in return, they commit to working as a GP in a region with too few doctors for ten years after completing their studies and further training.
The aim of the quota is to halt the worsening shortage of doctors in Lower Saxony. By 2035, the number of GPs could fall from more than 5,200 today to around 3,750. This is according to a forecast by the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians of Lower Saxony (KVN) from March. According to the forecast, more than 500 GP posts are already vacant.
Renneberg further suggested that universities should consider expanding their medical programs to accommodate more students, recognizing the critical role of education in addressing the medical profession's future needs. Additionally, she emphasized the importance of offering incentives for medical graduates to practice in underserved areas, such as financial aid or loan forgiveness programs, in collaboration with relevant educational institutions and organizations.
Source: www.dpa.com
