Info for working in Germany or Holland

Hi guys,

I am an Australian physio but I would like to look into working in either the Netherlands or Germany in the next year or so. If you could help me out with any of these questions that would be great.

** What board/organisation do I need to go through to get registration?
** Is there a clinical or written test?
** If I were to become registered through the UK, does that carry over as part of the Euro agreement?
** How long does it take for the whole process?
** What are the costs??
** Are there english speaking jobs or do you need to be fluent in the native language?
** Are there recruitment agencies that target these countries?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Personal experience, websites, anything!

Hi there,

I am actually German and was trained both in Germany and the Netherlands :)
I have been working in Australia for several years now and my first reaction to your post was:
Why on earth does an Australian physio want to work in Germany as a physio??? Seriously, I am from Germany and love my country but after working abroad (NZ and AUS), I really can´t imagine going back to Germany to work anymore. The work itself is fun, we have nice and high quality medical facilities - but as far as physio goes, I imagine, you would feel severely restricted after having experienced "physio life" in Australia. Physios in Germany don´t have the same autonomy as the physios here. In hospitals, there is a lot of hierachy, the doctors are the "Gods in white" - I found the multidisciplinary team work in Australia far better. In private practice, you will only be allowed to treat a patient when a doctor "prescribes" physiotherapy - and he will write down the kind of treatment, how many treatments etc.
The German physio education is quite poor in comparison to the Australian one. I don´t want to talk my fellow German collegues down, there are some great physios in Germany as they have completed further post-graduate courses/studies - but as a whole, the physio profession is not very highly recognized. And the salary is really a joke...
There are heaps of jobs in private practice at the moment though...
The Netherlands are probably better - they have direct access now and the standard is higher. I am not quite sure about the current job market.
But no matter, which country in the world you choose: You will have to learn the language...

There´s one exception (and this is probably the only one I´d recommend you if you absolutely want to work in Germany for while): You could work for the British Forces - they still have quite a few bases in Germany and I´ve seen a few recruitment agencies here on physiobob looking for physios. The advantage is: The language problem is solved. And you will need UK registration - not the German one (as it´s British soil). But even with a UK registration, you could only work in the UK, each country in Europe has different regulations and you will need to apply directly to the professional body. In Germany, it would depend in which area you want to work but usually, it´s the "Regierungspraesidium" of each district which is responsible for that.

Best of luck with your decision - and let me know if you have further questions.

hi njs,

am Dutch, trained there, worked there and worked in Germany as well.
Dutch situation is more like the Australian, free access and the likes BUT.... you need to speak the lingo
You can have a look at our association's site Home | KNGF and request more information.
go to the http://www.wcpt.org/europesite for more information about the various countries, europe has its own legislation and rules regarding work and work permits....
As far as I am informed there are no specific organisations you can go to to help facilitate a job... you need to go the the countries associations.

good luck with your endevours

goodluck

Thanks Esther and physiogirl for replying!

Physiogirl - thanks for the insight into what it's really like to work in Germany. I am completely niave in my approach so it's great to find out that it is nothing like what I currently do in Australia. My plan is to move over to Europe for 1 - 2 years and after traveling through the Netherlands and Germany I thought these were places I could live - obviously I would love to bring my skills as a physio across and get work in something that is relevant to my profession, but if that fails then I know there's nothing wrong with pulling beers for a living (ha!).

In your experience, even with the high profile of the doctors, is the treatment and rationale still on par? And what would happen if the physio steered off the recommended course of treatment for the client?

Esther - does the Netherlands work off the same basis that there has to be a referral from a doctor, or can people present on their own accord and the physios develop their own assessment and treatment plan?

Thanks again for your responses. As I said, I have no idea of the working conditions abroad so it's great to get this information before I start planning.

hi njs,

The physio is always the one that decides what to do in Holland....
if (and it does happen every now and again) a doctor does have an opinion and wants a certain treatment performed and we agree, we do so.... and
include whatever else we think necessary.
If we do not agree, we call and discuss.... people can come with a referral and without one... the referral usually asked for physiotherapy... we are
the ones doing our own assessment,deciding goals, making treatment plans and treating in whatever way we see fit.

You are still very welcome in Holland, you most certainly find that (if you contact them) colleagues are willing to show you around.
Esther

Hi njs,

well, as I said, I know some excellent physios in Germany who are on par with their international collegues but in generally, I don´t find the German physio education very good. The good physios usually have extensive post grad course studies...

Also, what I have written, is the formal/legal part. In reality, of course, you assess a patient and develop your own treatment plan. The doctor´s "diagnosis" often is something specific like "lumbar syndrome" or "Impingement" - doesn´t tell you anything, right? And the treatment on the referral says "manual therapy" or something like that. You would still choose the treatment method that´s the most suitable. The reason why they have to specify the diagnosis and treatment is partly because of billing purposes for the health insurances - different diagnoses get a certain number of physio treatments or certain treatments cost more than others. If you have good connections with specialists etc, it´s not uncommon for the physio to let the referring doctor know what kind of referral he needs to give the patient ;) That´s private practice though.
In hospital, the system is different, even though I am not familiar with the current situation (haven´t worked in a hospital in Germany since I graduated) - but there are good and bad places, I suppose. In some hospital, the medical teams and physios would work closely together - in some, there´s more hierachy.
Whatever you decide - if you want to just get an idea and observe the work of physios, I´m sure people would be willing to show you around.
As for working in the country - you will need to speak the language. So I still think, the idea with the British military bases might be worth a thought.
Unless you want to pull beers in an irish pub :)