The state of Upper Austria has now introduced a new solution to the shortage of doctors: students will work in the civil service if they commit to working for ten years after the end of their training.
The problem is known: Upper Austria, like other federal states, is experiencing an acute shortage of doctors: in the state of Upper Austria, five official medical posts are unfilled, and in the Upper Austrian Health Holding (OÖG) there are also too few doctors despite record numbers of staff – especially in psychiatry (adults and children), pathology and radiotherapy.
1000 euros gross 14 times a year
A possible remedy for this is the legal allocation of study places in the public interest by the federal government. In concrete terms, this means: From the coming academic year, Upper Austria can allocate ten places in an unusual step. Medical students receive financial support of 1,000 euros gross per month (14 times) from the state during their studies if they commit themselves for up to ten years after the end of their training – either with the state as a doctor or in the above-mentioned subjects in a public hospital.
“The application to the state must be submitted before the medical admission test,” explain Governor Thomas Stelzer and health official Christine Haberlander (both ÖVP).
Ten additional places for medical studies per year
A state committee will then conduct interviews and select the candidates. State boss Stelzer: “The establishment of the Medical Faculty in Linz was and is a big step for our state.” This year there are 310 places for new students, and ten more will be added in the coming years.
Source: Krone
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