Pharmacists from third countries: BPhD advocates simplified recognition

The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) recently published a draft bill for a "Law to Accelerate the Recognition Procedures for Foreign Professional Qualifications in the Health Professions." According to this bill, the recognition process for pharmacists and other health professionals, such as doctors, dentists, and midwives from third countries, is to be accelerated while maintaining the same professional requirements. The project aims to alleviate the increasingly severe shortage of skilled workers.

The proposed changes could allow applicants to take a knowledge test directly in the future. In this case, the responsible state authorities could waive the costly equivalence assessment, which would then become optional.

The Federal Association of Pharmacy Students in Germany (BPhD) welcomes this legislative proposal, as it recently announced in a press release . "Given the growing shortage of skilled workers in the healthcare sector, the accelerated and less bureaucratic recognition of qualified personnel from abroad is of key importance. This contributes significantly to the efficient use of existing skills," the student association wrote. It cited figures from the Competence Center.

Skilled Workforce Securing (KOFA), according to which 47,400 jobs in the

The number of vacant positions in the healthcare sector remains vacant – and the trend is increasing. However, the BPhD emphasizes that the quality of patient care must not suffer under the new regulation.

The draft law is a sensible step to address the worsening shortage of skilled workers. "Especially refugee academics, especially women, often find it difficult to access jobs that match their qualifications, which means Germany is missing out on qualified specialists," according to the BPhD. However, the association is calling for further measures to better and more quickly integrate foreign skilled workers into the labor market, including better financial support for foreign trainees, for example through "BAföG-like models." The BPhD also believes there should be a better range of language courses and the expansion of digital recognition portals.

Last but not least, the student association is, as is often the case, calling for the amendment of the licensing regulations for pharmacists (AAppO) in order to adapt the profession to current requirements and make it more attractive.