British physio working in Germany

Hi,

my girlfriend is studying sport physio in the UK, she finishes soon and I would be happy if she moved to Germany after her graduation. As I am working in the IT sector Germany is quite an ideal place for me to be however I wonder how it is in her profession. All I read (googled) so far was that the UK education was better because it was evidence based and that in UK it was appreciated more and treated as an actual profession.

So I want to ask your opinions on how it is when a UK physio would move/work to/in Germany. Is it a good/bad idea - is (sport)physio higher/less valued in Germany. Is it worth to do it in Germany on a long term or would Canada/OZ/NZ/US a better option, etc.

Thanks for any feedback on this in advance.
ellar4

Hi,
i had a very experienced friend who worked in the German system and they had to do unpaid work to gain skills in machines that the Germans use, very heavy electro therapy based but not the standard ones used. He also needed to be fluent in German. Physio is much more consultant led in Germany, with patients from surgery being booked in straight away for 10 sessions of physio and being given all the appts at the sametime. I worked in North Germany myself came back to the UK in 2007 but from speaking to friends it is still very similar. As far as being a sports physio goes, we don't usually graduate as a sports physio, we graduate as a physio and then later specialise in an area. She would be better off looking at rotations to build on skills in those areas. Alternatives are working in the British system in Germany, working for British Forces in Germany but she would not have the experience to be employed as a physio as usually want At least 4-5 years post physio degree. She may be lucky enough to work as a band 5 eri locum if she can show experience with group therapy and exercise prescription, may be good to build up CV now getting experience. Usual locum agencies are MMP or Castlerock but there is lots of competition especially for the overseas ones. Hope that helps.