Study medicine

Medicine in Germany: Tradition and Progress for the Patient’s Well-Being

The medical profession goes back nearly five thousand years. The first physician known to us by name was Imhotep who, around 2,600 B.C., served the Egyptian pharaoh Joser. His reputation loomed so large that he was worshipped like a god after his death and viewed as an equal to Aesculap, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Two thousand years later, the Greek physician Hippocrates of Kos (460-377 B.C.) described many ailments and their symptoms. He is considered the founder of rational-empirical medicine and considered by many to be the father of European medicine. Even today, doctors the world over take the "Hippocratic Oath" as a way of demonstrating their regard for his moral and ethical standards.

Modern medicine has access to an enormous and steadily growing body of medical knowledge, ongoing research findings, drugs and technical procedures to help patients already ill or to prevent ailments before they occur. In Germany, the public's interest in medical issues and advances in the life sciences has been very large, as the response to the many information events in recent years has illustrated. These have included questions concerning public health and nutrition, brain research, pharmacology and gene technology. The medical profession as a whole and doctors in particular are both highly regarded in Germany.

Biomedical Research has a Long Tradition in Germany

Germany is fortunate to possess a substantial legacy in the spheres of medicine and the life sciences. Many leading scientists of the 20th century worked in Germany or studied at one of the famous universities in Berlin, Heidelberg or Göttingen. Medicine and the life sciences have a long tradition in Germany. Here are just a few examples:

Today, we take it for granted that for nearly any ailment there is an appropriate treatment. But this was not always the case. It took the research results of doctors like Robert Koch, Emil von Behring and Paul Ehrlich in the early 20th century to pave the way for the development of drug treatments for serious illnesses. These scientists were each awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their groundbreaking work in modern bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy. Even then, there was very active international cooperation in the medical field. The Japanese bacteriologist Kitasato Shibasaburo worked together closely with von Behring in Koch's Berlin laboratory and later founded his famous research laboratory for bacteriology and pharmacology near Tokyo.

The research efforts of the German chemist and pathologist Gerhard Domagk brought about a turning point in chemotherapy in 1932. It was the first time that a highly effective synthetic drug had been developed against bacterial infections. For his work, Domagk received the Nobel Prize in 1939. A more recent example of basic medical research in Germany is the development of "patch-clamp" technology by Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann, who won the Nobel Prize in 1991 for their work. With this technology, the two scientists were able to prove that ions flow through individual canals in the cell membrane. This technology has since made its way around the globe, helping to clarify the role ion canals play in diseases like diabetes, which is already a widespread problem in the developed world. It has also helped our understanding of epilepsy and cardiovascular ailments.

Medicine and Life Sciences have a Great Future in Germany

The long and stellar tradition of biomedical research in Germany continues today at numerous internationally renowned research institutes and organizations. Among them, first and foremost, are the Max-Planck-Institutes, which primarily focus on basic research, both in the natural sciences and the humanities. Of the 80 Max-Planck-Institutes, 47 conduct their activities in the biology and medical sectors. The institutes maintain close contacts with German universities, and year after year, attract talented scientists from around the world in virtually every discipline.

At the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry in Munich, 400 scientists are studying molecular processes in living cells. The focus of their work is trained especially on cancer cell development, protein composition, cellular interaction during skeletal and epidermis development and healing processes. Another highly promising project is concerned with the integration of neurons and electronic microchips. These efforts hope to draw fresh conclusions about the interaction of neurons in the brain and the development of hybrid computers using biological and inorganic materials.

The 84 non-university research institutes and service organizations of the Leibniz Science Association also conduct medical research. Around one quarter of these facilities work together in the life sciences sector. The German Diabetes Research Institute in Düsseldorf with its nearly 300 staff members, for example, studies diabetes mellitus and related ailments. The Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg with a staff of 350 is the largest institute of its kind in Germany. It is also the national clearinghouse for tropical pathogens. Special emphasis is placed on malaria, river blindness, tropical fever viruses and AIDS.

A pioneering procedure for the treatment of tumors has been developed by the Society for Heavy Ion Research (GSI) in Darmstadt and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. Tumor tissue in the body is subjected to a radiation treatment using fast moving carbon ions. Ions can be controlled to give off their inertia energy in a desired depth of tissue, thus destroying the tumor, while surrounding tissue is left mostly intact. In this way, many inoperable tumors can now be successfully treated for the first time.

The scientific institutes are not the only place where medical research is conducted in Germany. Numerous university facilities are also involved at a very high international level. In particular, at the country's 36 university hospitals, patient care goes hand-in-hand with top flight medical research. At the University of Mainz, for example, physicists and medical experts have developed an innovative procedure for lung diagnostics. The magnetic properties of the rare, inert helium-3 isotope serve to map the flow of air in the breathing lung using magnetic resonance tomography. The procedure details directly those parts of the lungs that have been damaged or destroyed.

Seventeen so-called competence networks in Germany focus on specific medical issues that are funded by the Ministry of Education and Research in Berlin. These networks coordinate research efforts at university and non-university facilities alike on subjects ranging from congenital cardiac defects, rheumatism and HIV/AIDS, to Parkinson's disease and dementia. All of these examples illustrate that biomedical research in Germany is extensive and that as a land of science Germany is an international leader in medical research.

Studying Medicine and Dentistry in Germany

Germany offers students of medicine and dentistry a broad selection of first-rate universities. Among these are large schools, such as Munich or Berlin, but also smaller ones, like Greifswald and Essen. There are old schools with long traditions, as in Heidelberg and Göttingen, and newer institutions, such as Düsseldorf and Regensburg. This diversity is, without a doubt, an enormous asset and underscored even more so by the fact that all of these schools ensure an education at the highest level. A total of 35 universities in Germany offer degrees in medicine; 30 also have schools of dentistry.

Studying medicine in Germany generally takes a little more than six years. The initial, basic studies program lasts four semesters with an emphasis on the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, biology) and the fundamentals of medicine (physiology, biochemistry, anatomy). This first phase ends with a state-administered medical examination. With the successful completion of this phase, the student moves on to the main, six-semester course of study in core areas of medicine that includes lecture, seminar and laboratory work. This is followed by a 48-week practical training period in a clinic or hospital, known as the "practical year", focusing on surgery, internal medicine and an elected subject chosen by the student. This segment ends with the second medical exam and can be followed by training to become a specialist; for example, in ophthalmology, surgery, or neurology. Depending on the specialty, this can take between four and six years and ends with the specialist examination conducted by the medical association.

For a career in dentistry, the prospective student must complete a regular course of study which last ten semesters, plus an additional six months. Following a five-semester pre-clinical phase, which focuses on the natural sciences, medicine and dental materials, the student must successfully complete his or her preliminary dentistry examination. This is followed by another five semesters of clinical study, including lectures, seminars and practical training, to further perfect the student's medical knowledge and dentistry skills. A degree in dentistry is awarded upon the successful completion of the second state-administered dentistry examination. This may be followed by further specialist training in oral surgery, orthodontics, or public health, which can last between three and four years.

Whether you ultimately decide to purse a career in medicine or dentistry – with or without additional specialist training – the decision to study in Germany is always the right choice.