A senior German doctor has raised concerns about the safety risks posed by foreign doctors working in the country. Speaking anonymously to Cicero magazine, the doctor, a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology in Lower Saxony, warned that many foreign-trained doctors do not meet Germany’s medical standards, which could endanger patients.
She explained that, out of ten foreign doctors she supervises, only one would be allowed to treat patients unsupervised.
She provided examples of foreign doctors struggling with basic medical procedures. One Belarusian colleague, an electrophysiologist, had difficulty interpreting an ECG and performing a cardiac ultrasound, which are routine tasks in Germany. In another instance, an Arab colleague mishandled a patient’s gastric tube and central venous catheter, which led to the patient’s death. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating, though the doctor acknowledges it’s unclear if the foreign doctor’s actions directly caused the death.
The doctor also highlighted the frustrations of supervising poorly trained foreign doctors, stating she often had to “protect the patient from the doctor.” She shared an example of a young Arab doctor who couldn’t insert intravenous needles on a critically ill patient, leading her to prevent him from caring for the patient altogether.
While the doctor acknowledged positive experiences with some foreign doctors, particularly those from southern Europe, she expressed concerns about medical professionals from Muslim-majority countries. She criticized their resistance to criticism, with one doctor accusing her of racism when she tried to explain basic procedures. She also noted that some Muslim doctors held gender stereotypes and treated nurses disrespectfully.
The doctor also recounted an instance when her husband, a medical examiner in Hesse, had to fail a foreign neurosurgeon for his lack of knowledge after he misdiagnosed a patient’s condition. This lack of expertise, she warned, is not uncommon among foreign doctors in Germany, especially those from countries with lower medical standards.
Additionally, she cautioned against relaxing the process for admitting foreign doctors to address the shortage of medical professionals. Many foreign doctors fail language proficiency tests, and speeding up the recognition of their qualifications would, in her view, compromise the quality of care in Germany. She criticized the media’s portrayal of the foreign doctor shortage, arguing that it distorts the reality of the situation.
“Germany’s medical standards have long been the backbone of its healthcare system,” she said. “We can’t lower those standards just to fill positions.”
