The Mediendienst Integration has published a new factsheet on foreign-trained nurses and physicians in Germany.
The data underline the crucial role that international professionals play in ensuring medical and nursing care. At the same time, they demonstrate how closely questions of labour shortages are linked to migration, integration and the future of the healthcare system.
The publication addresses key questions explored in the project Gesundheit! Participation in the Care Sector: How can international professionals be successfully recruited, qualified and sustainably integrated into the healthcare system? And which structural conditions are necessary to ensure long-term healthcare provision?
The factsheet quotes Yasemin Bekyol, researcher in the project Gesundheit! Participation in the Care Sector at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg:
“Germany depends on immigrant care workers. Policymakers have recognised this and improved immigration legislation. However, our multi-year research shows that the challenge is not a lack of knowledge, but rather a deficit in implementation.
We should not focus solely on workers as labour resources, but on the individual as a whole. This is a long-term societal responsibility. Even after signing an employment contract, many everyday challenges remain: discrimination in the housing market, language barriers when dealing with public authorities, and support for social participation. Otherwise, there is a risk that carefully recruited professionals will not stay.”
The factsheet provides current data and a valuable evidence base for research, practice and policy discussions on the future of healthcare workforce development in Germany.
Picture: © Illustration by Quickdata