Get 'em to stick around: CDU proposes new strategy to keep foreign medical grads in Germany
CDU to Maintain Presence of International Medical Students Within the Nation
In the fight to keep healthcare running smoothly in Germany, the CDU is proposing an unconventional solution: making foreign medical students pay for their studies if they decide to take their skills back home after graduation. Sepp Müller, deputy CDU chairman, made this crystal clear when he spoke to the "Bild" newspaper: "These folks came here for their doctorate, they shouldn't just take off abroad with it. If they don't want to put down roots in rural areas for at least five years, they should cough up the costs of this primo education."
It's a catastrophic situation in Germany, with a staggering shortage of over 5,000 family doctors[2]. Tino Sorge, the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health, agrees that Germany needs to keep talented graduates on board rather than watching them jet off. "We should be focusing on retaining these highly skilled professionals, not letting them leave. Our goal should be to secure their services here, not witness their emigration," he told the same newspaper.
Florian Müller, the CDU's research policy spokesman, believes that the federal states ought to take charge of how foreign students pay back their study costs if they leave the country. "We need to do a much better job of ensuring that international talent stays in Germany post-university. We can't allow it to be a revolving door of skilled professionals," he said.
So, what's next in the CDU's plan to build a stronger healthcare system? The devil, as they say, is in the details. At this point, it's not clear whether the proposed repayment mechanism will be full or partial, nor is there consensus on the details of the employment period required. But one thing's for sure: these proposals represent a shift in how Germany approaches international education, particularly in the field of medicine.
Sources:1. ntv.de2. ino/dpa
- CDU
- Skills shortage
- Doctors
- The CDU's new strategy, aimed at retaining foreign medical graduates in Germany, involves proposing a payment for studies if they decide to practice medicine abroad, as stipulated by Sepp Müller, the deputy CDU chairman.
- Tino Sorge, the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health, supports the idea of keeping talented foreign medical graduates, suggesting that they should be incentivized to remain in Germany rather than leaving for other countries.
- Florian Müller, the CDU's research policy spokesman, advocates for the federal states to manage how foreign students repay their study costs if they decide to leave the country, emphasizing the importance of retaining international talent in Germany.
