To apply for a post for further specialization or Hospitation in Medicine as a Foreign Doctor

Hello friends!!

You really dream of starting your residency in Germany because of many well-known factors like good working environment, high salary during residency, beautiful country, good standard of living, good opportunities of being a part of newest research projects and, above all, no entrance exams or merit system applies when it comes to being accepted as a resident Doc in Germany. But there are many question in your mind right now, like:

• How does the residency system actually work, if not through an entrance exam or a merit system?
• I have studied medicine in India/Pakistan/Nepal/Phillipines/China/Arab Country/Russia/Ukraine/.., or any other country and if my degree will be accepted according to the German laws?
• Do I need overall excellent or very nice grades to get a residency?
• I don't have nice grades, but I want to do residency in for example Cardiology. Is it possible?
• I have very nice grades throughout. So, will it be easier to get a highly sought after field for eg: Cardiology?
• How long is the application process?
• How much does it all cost?
• Do I need to consult any agency/agents to help me with that?
• Do agents have internal contacts with selectors? 
• If I apply through an agent, would I have more chances of get a better place?

All these question are not dumb at all. Only an intelligent person would think a bit oddly and have more questions than others. If so, then you are at a right place. Read below to find out straight-to-the-point info, without additional bullshits and hoaxes: (But before you read here further, it would be better if you once read this previous article. Because this current article is a sub-article of the previous one)

A bit of an important information:

• You will lose your "Dr. Title" in Germany if you haven't earned it through any doctorat reaseach. Yes, a Dr. title achieved on completion of your bechlorette in Medicine is not in practice in Germany and therefore it won't be recognised. You are still a Medical doctor, but without any title (Ich weiß, das ist verrückt :D). You will retain your doctor title in case if you have earned it through any doctoral research.
• A title of "Dr. Med" signifies a specialist in Medicine/Surgery, instead of MD or MS title (Doctor of Medicine or Master of Surgery), which is earned after Postgraduation in Medicine in many countries like India, UK, etc. If you are wondering if your Postgraduation degree from you country of education is recognized as a specialist qualification in Germany, read here.
• In Germany, your capabilities and smartness is assessed by your job givers before they accept you as a residency candidate, i.e., during your job interview with the Chief of the Department of the respective branch of your interest, he will ask you a variety of questions depending upon his mood. Although, most of these question are not focused on evaluation of your medical knowledge but more focused on your presence of mind, smartness and German language, it is very possible that the questions related to medicine could also be asked. So, you must be ready in all possible ways.
• Your grades in the medical school, country of origin of medical degree or name of your agent are not important at all when you are being evaluated as a residency candidate. All these (Except agent part) plays an important role during the recognition of your Medical degree by State Medical Council. 
• So, this means, it depends completely upon you, where, when and in what field do you get selected.
• In general, Medical German language level C1 gives a good impression about you German proficiency, when you apply for residency, for example telc-medicine B2-C1. 
• Depending upon your luck, it may take anywhere between one month to 6 months, before you find any field of your choice. Again, this is an average duration for most of my friends who completed C1 and applied for residency. In your case it could be even less than one month or more than 6 months. There is no guarantee. But there are always thousands of vacancies in residency. So remember, a tree of patience bears the sweetest fruits.
• Cost is completely dependent upon which language school do you choose, where do you learn German, what are your personal monthly expenses, etc,. Other than that, the application process itself costs just phone charges, postage charges and your travelling.
• To apply for a residency, you don't actually need to get your certificates translated into German language. Your resume and letter of motivation must be in German language.
• There are in general two types of applications:
  
  A. Routine application on the vacancy in the hospital: Where you read in the hospital website or any other portal about the vacancy in the field of your interest and apply for the same.
  B.  Speculative application (Initiativbewerbung): Where you enquiring directly with organisations to find out whether they have jobs or work experience opportunities that are not advertised. This is a proactive approach to job hunting.

So, now lets take look at what is required to apply and start a residency in Germany:

1. Your Medical DIplom/Degree Certificate
2. German language proficiency certificate
3. Certificate of completion of internships (Internship must be of at least 1 year duration)
4. Work experience certificate (If available)
5. Letter of motivation
6. Resume according to the German standard
7. Any other important certificated related to your medical school
8. A smart looking pic of yours in official clothes (Blazer/Shirt-Tie)
9. And of course, internet, time and patience 

Lets now take a look at the step-by-step application process:

          Step 1. Prepare all documents required for the application. Keep the scan copies ready

          Step 2.  Search in internet about the vacancies

          Step 3: Call personally on the telephone number of the Chief of the Department

          Step 4: Send you application

Let us now go into more details:

          Step 1. Prepare all documents required for the application. Keep the scan copies ready in your computer. 

          Step 2.  Search in internet about the vacancies in your field of interest. Searching and applying for a residency in Germany is like searching for a job, because it is treated as the same. There are many website offering a list of vacancies for residency. One such website is: www.medi-jobs.de

             --> Alternatively, you can search for "Krankenhaus (i.e. Hospital)" in the city/state of your choice in Google Search. There you can always see a list of websites of the hospitals. In the Jobs/Career section of the website, you will find open vacancies. If not, you can directly inquire the secretary of the Chief of the Department of your interest. 

           Step 3: Call personally on the telephone number of the Chief of the Department and talk to him. Yes, once you read somewhere about the vacancy in the field of your interest in any hospital, you can personally talk with the Chief of the Department and inquire again about the same. It is not mandatory, but it will make your application to gain more preference over other applicants. 

           Step 4: Once you receive a positive response from the Chief of the Department, send you application via Email or better, copies of your documents via Post/Courier on the address displayed in the "Contact us" section of the hospital website.

In case, the hospital website provides an application portal, you can again talk to the Chief the Department and send your application through their online portal. 


In case if you are looking for a Hospitation, you will again need to follow the same steps as for the residency, except searching for any vacancy. You can apply for a Hospitation staight away, even if there are no vacancies listed for it. Additionally, you may apply for a Hospitation even if you don´t have the Medical German B2 or C1. For Hospitation, you can apply with routine German language level B2 or even B1 in some cases. Now, if you are wondering, what does Hospitation mean and what are the benefits of it, or how should you prepare yourself for an interview for the same, you can read here in this article.

That's it. Now wait for your Interview call. Good luck!