The Austrian Medical Association has been motivating people to become doctors at Austria’s largest educational fair (BeSt) for 38 years
– 2024-03-05 04:25:59
The ÖÄK would like to inspire enthusiasm for the medical profession and calls on hospital operators to always have attractive offers for graduates of medical studies in Talon.
Vienna (OTS) – The BeSt, the largest educational trade fair in Austria, has been taking place since 1986, and the Austrian Medical Association (ÖÄK) has been there ever since, motivating and inspiring high school graduates, students and their parents for the medical profession – also from March 7th to 10th, 2024, when the BeSt takes place in the Wiener Stadthalle with free admission, there is an ÖÄK stand. “Those young people who show an interest in the medical profession at a very early age are important to us,” emphasizes ÖÄK President Johannes Steinhart. And Harald Mayer, ÖÄK Vice President and Federal Curia Chairman of the employed doctors, adds: “To explain to the young people how to become a doctor, what challenges there are to overcome and, in particular, to motivate and inspire them to take up the medical profession in Austria , is very important to us as a professional association. That’s why we’ve been involved in BeSt for years.”
Mayer demands that this enthusiasm for wanting to work as a doctor must also be safeguarded in the long term: “It is of no use if potential future doctors complete their studies with joy, but then the federal states give them exactly this joy is taken away from their hospital providers by having to wait months for training positions. The providers must prepare now to make an attractive offer to those who will complete their medical studies in early summer 2024!” The same applies to basic training: “The exorbitantly long waiting times for a place in basic training cannot be tolerated. Posts must be created as quickly as possible to give all graduates the chance to begin their training in Austria.”
Homemade doctor shortage The Federal Curia of Doctors employed by the ÖÄK has already pointed out several times that the providers have not currently filled many already approved training positions for the specialist field – in some attractive subjects, such as radiology, this even affects up to 50 percent of the positions. “If I put these numbers in relation to the propagated shortage of doctors, I can only describe this as home-made and self-inflicted. If we don’t allow any training at all, we shouldn’t be surprised if we run out of doctors in our own country,” says Mayer. “As doctors employed by the Federal Curia, we will continue to listen carefully to the young people and advocate for attractive offers – be it training or innovative, flexible working time models.”
Attractive medical profession In order to promote the attractiveness of the medical profession, but also to take a stand on current topics and show the challenging aspects of already working as a doctor, the Federal Curia of Employed Doctors recently launched a social media campaign entitled “We are hospital doctors and Hospital Doctors”, which can be found on the following platforms: – Facebook – LinkedIn – X (ehem. Twitter)
Questions & Contact:
Austrian Medical Association Mag. Thorsten Medwedeff public relation +43 1 514 06-3314 t.medwedeff@aerztekammer.at
