Info for working in Germany or Holland

[njs182]

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.

[physiogirl76]

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