Seeking German healthcare info.

suzanne4, RN · Feb 9, 2006

I took the liberty of moving your post to the International forum, where we have several German nurses that post regularly. I am sure that one of them can help you out.

jyrn · Feb 9, 2006

Thank you, Suzanne.

Filgeram27 · Feb 13, 2006

Hi Jyrn, i lived for almost 20 years in germany and worked as a nurse for almost 10 years in different hospitals in germany. but i just passed the nclex exam last week, which means, i dont have lots of experience here in the states. maybe i can help you. what exactly you need to know about german healthcare?

jyrn · Feb 14, 2006

Thank you so much for responding to me. I am writing a paper on the German health care system. It would be a better paper if I had first-hand knowledge from a German person. Do you think I could call you sometime and ask you questions for maybe 15 minutes? (Maybe less)....

I live in Iowa. Where do you live? Did you work as a nurse in Germany? Are most Germans happy with the healthcare system? Why did you move here? Is it a good thing to be a nurse in Germany? How are nurses treated? A woman from the former Yugoslavia told me nurses there are like waitresses here... How are the salaries for nurses? Did your family get what they wanted from the healthcare system in Germany? Did they think it was expensive? Did they pay a lot for services? prescriptions? Are there nurse practitioners in Germany? I would LOVE to hear from you. I have written 15 pages so far but an interview with you would make my paper and presentation SO much more interesting. Thank you again for any information you provide. JY:roll :roll :nurse:

nutella, MSN, RN · Feb 15, 2006

Hi Jyrn,

I worked as a nurse (CCU, IMC etc.) in Germany in different hospitals. Also, I have a link on my laptop I can provide. It is written in English and explains the whole system, basic nursing care, post nursing specialities etc..

If you have questions, let me know, I will look for the link...

nutella

jyrn · Feb 16, 2006

I would love to visit that site. Address =?

If you don't mind, I'd love to send you a few questions in the next 24 hours to get your personal insights.....

Thanks for your answer. JY

nutella, MSN, RN · Feb 16, 2006

http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/qualifications/docs/nurses/2000-study/nurses_germany_en.pdf

Here is the link, I hope it works!

nutella, MSN, RN · Feb 16, 2006

And another :

http://www.euro.who.int/countryinformation/CtryInfoRes?COUNTRY=DEU&CtryInputSubmit=

That should help to understand the transitions in the German health system...

jyrn · Feb 16, 2006

Dear Nutella, Both sites work. I will go to my hospital tomorrow and print the info. there. (My hospital lets me print stuff for school for free. Isn't that excellent?

Nutella, I am trying to contact a nurse in CA. who is German. With your permission, I would like to ask you some questions... Are you German? In your opinion, are most Germans happy with the healthcare system? How does the use of technology compare to the U.S.? Do you like practicing here better or there better? How are nurses perceived in Germany? How are the wages? Are there nurse practitioners? I have worked the last ten years in critical care. How does critical care compare to that found in Germany? Are elderly patients subjected to such aggressive treatments there as here? Where do you think care, in general, is better?

The articles I have read so far suggest that German healthcare is in trouble because providing it is so expensive. I have read varying reports on how the German people like it. I don't know what to believe is true...

My daughter lives in Boston. That is such a fun city. :nurse: JY

nutella, MSN, RN · Feb 16, 2006

I don't work here in the states, I am still working on getting licensed, so I can't compare!

Also I think our systems are so different that it is hard to somehow compare something, it is also a different culture!

In Germany everybody has a health insurance! Usually you pick one and your employer pays half the cost.If you are unemployed , you can keep the insurance, somebody else will pay for it (unemployment insurance or welfare). Everybody is required to have insurance but there is a possibility to get private insurance which is a little bit like the PPO s here. They have deductibles, copays etc. and are fine as long as you do not get sick, also you need to sign up for each family member extra. The regular insurance has family rates , no deductable and only a low copayment per 3 months term ( used to be 10 euro). There is a copay for medications but for low income you can get a waiver.

Healthcare is for everybody but of course it costs a bit. It is somehow like socialized healthcare.

I never felt like a cleaning woman *gg*!

There are no nurse practitioners, nurses can't diagnose medical conditions . Physicians prescribe everything , by law they work under physicians supervisions. Big difference!

Actually you need a prescription to give a Tylenol for headache.

Nurses can work very independantly if they are able to proove that they have the knowleadge and act responsible, but it is a big "gray" and somehow it is doctor's mercy.

Our education is different end very focused on nursing itself and a lot more practical training , first level general nurses also wash patients, give them their meals, give meds, they do all the basic care, which can be done by less trained personal like here in the US . But a 3 y. nurse is much more expensive than somekind of aid, also a lot of nurses don't see why they need to attend professional school that long for that kind of job . It is some kind of primary care system but usually there are no helpers and you do everything yourself or students.

Working in CCU's is great as nurses have more responsibility. They can run CVVHD, respirator, heart pumps etc. when trained. Usually there are no resp.therapists for severe cases , so physicians and nurses do the job.

It is not that specalized in Germany although you can go for post basic education like here the CC certificate.

I would never choose to work at med/surg. floor, a complete nightmare: understaffed all the time with multi morbid patients. I did that sometimes for a staffing agency but that was terrible.

I think most people are somehow o.k. with that health system, still everybody can afford treatment and meds!!!! When it comes to Hospitals it depends on the hospital . Some are very specialist and great with international reputation esp. Major teaching hospitals , but the smaller ones don't get the real good staff and so quality and standards can vary.

A lot of nurses on regular floors have low self esteem and try to find their call in alternative treatments (natural remedies are very popular , all the non-medication "treatments" also) where they have their own space (MD's don't care about that ). I also observed that a lot of nurses don't go for CE and don't read regularly articles etc. and have trouble to stay up to date. There is no law which forces nurses to get CE. That can be a problem when patients need to be tought (asthma, heart diseases etc..) and no specialist is available and physicians don't have that time!

That is what I like here in the US. Teaching the patient to get more compliance and a better outcome is very important here and done by nurses .

Aggressiv treatment in elders depends on dx . We had to take care of a nice lady who got a new valve with 90 something. Couldn't get her off the respirator for quite some time, also went into delirium and a lot of us couldn.t understand that this should have improved her quality in life....

As you can see, I can just give you my impressions, but the articles are great and will help you. I think we can't compare that much!

Boston is nice. we live close to Boston.

jyrn · Feb 16, 2006

Nutella, THANK YOU SO MUCH. i am printing your reply. i may attach it to my paper. it is so interesting and it is first-hand info.----not just the P.R. stuff. i wish you the very best. jy