Dear all,
My girlfriend (Spanish) just finished Medicine (6 years) and she has now to choose a specialization. The idea is that, once she finishes this in 4 years, she moves from Spain to Switzerland.
She is currently doubting between these options:
- family medicine
- internal medicine
- Pneumologyst
- Allergollogyst
I heard that to validate one or other specialization may be different depending on how the Swiss Medical Association understands it, and that some specializations may have different names here in Switzerland, but could not find good information. Does anyone know whether which of the above could be easily validated in Switzerland? Is any of these more recognized in comparison to the rest?
Do you know if it is needed to make a specialization to work as a GP in Switzerland (apart from language)?
Any info will be of help. Thank you very much in advance!
Her best chance is family medicine, eg general physician (GP) not in hospital but in the community- especially in rural areas as there is a huge shortage which is getting worse by the day- so the system will bend over backwards to try and accommodate the differences. BUT, she will just have to speak the local language fluently to do so- either French (in French speaking area) German (in German .....) or Italian (in .... area). Many areas which are facing drastic shortages now or in the near future are doing everything they can to encourage GPs to come and work in their area, providing funding, coordinating groups of doctors who want to practise together (rather than on their own as was previously the norm here) helping with accommodation and loans for equipment, etc- but language is a real barrier - you just can't practise medicine without being fluent in local language- even if they can facilitate the equivalence of your medical training. I would be able to put any prospective GPs in contact with the person in charge for our area- and I know they would help- but only if.
It is difficult enough to be a good and efficient doctor when you can speak the language, if you can't it is impossible and of course totally unsafe.
I can't answer your question about recognition, but none the less a bit of info:
Switzerland is facing a crisis in general practice - there are not enough GPs, and many of those currently practicing are retiring soon. The need is especially great outside the urban metro areas.
Several cantons are looking into measures to encourage young doctors to go into general practice rather than a specialist practice.
So looking ahead to employability in Switzerland, family practice might be something to consider.
ETA:
Snap, Odile.
Dear Odile,
Thanks so much for your reply.
Actually, she is the first one who would not feel confident enough to work as a doctor unless she speaks the language fluently. The idea is to reach a good level and then apply for it.
One question I am not sure of: GP = Family doctor?
Thanks!
Thanks for your reply!
Also in Spain, family medicine is not a "well-known" specialization, but it seems that this trend will change at some point, especially as insurance companies want "generalist" doctors who can deal with most of the cases and then only need to derive to the specialists in some cases.
The UK is rather 'ahead' of the rest of the world- requiring all GPs (yes, family doctors) to train for 4 years after qualification before they can go and 'practice' as GPs. 1 year in hospital, normally 6 months in medicine and 6 in surgery, then 3 specialised years for GP, partly in hospital, partly at a medical school for specialised seminars, and also including 2 periods of practice under supervision (from memory an intitial one of 3 months, then 6 months at the end)- becoming more and more autonomous as time goes along. Some do have to do another year, if they supervisor decide they are not up to speed, etc- and even fail in very rare cases. Not the case in Switzerland it seems- but not sure about the exact procedure and rules. GPs in the UK have a far wider role- for instance most women here in Switzerland will go to a gynaecologist for 'women' problems or 'obstetrician' for pregnancy, and most parents will go straight to pediatrician with kids, rather than GP first. Talking to a retired GP from the UK- he told me he would have hated not having the variety of looking after the above.
Thanks so much Odile,
Just for curiosity, what can be the salary for a just "finished" doctor as an average value?
In Spain GPs are officially especialistas en medicina familiar y comunitaria but are commonly called "médico de cabecera" or "médico de familia."
In the UK GP's or General Practioners.
In Switzerland, Family Doctor or Hausartz.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_practitioner
...... That's the way to go!
Dear Island Monkey,
Are you also from Spain? From the name "Hausartz" it seems there should be no problems to convalidate medicina familiar in Switzerland, right?
Do you know by chance about any case?
This job web site offers lots of information about the medical profession in Switzerland. As others have said here GP's are in huge demand but there is also a huge shortage of pediatricians for the children. You could take a look through the job listings here to get a sense of the current state of affairs.
http://aerzte-jobs.ch/
Your girlfriend could specialize even further and still stay in family medicine. I see a General Internist here as my family doctor, and he is usually very heavily booked but always seems to fit me in on short notice.
I read somewhere that doctors are being restricted from opening their own practices in Switzerland now, apparently they need to have worked in a Swiss hospital for 3 years before they can go into private practice so this will make it even tougher for the many small communities to find the doctors who are able to take up those private practices from all the retiring Dr.'s.
language-wise: if I understand correctly, French spoken in Switzerland is not very different to one spoken in France. However, in case of German, local language is quite different. So if she plans to learn a local language, French could be a better option.
p.s. there are also these health companies working for insurance companies where you first call them and they tell you whether you should go to a hospital or not. you can also check requirements for those.
Italian would probably be easier for a Spaniard! But I'm guessing she will live in Zürich with the OP?
Yes, I thought there was a moratorium on opening new specialised practices, as everyone wanted to specialise but there were not enough general practicians.