In Latin America, nurses are looking for work and are undervalued; in Europe, there are many vacancies but obstacles and doubts.
What is it like to work in healthcare in Germany?
What do I need to know before I apply for a job?
What German language skills do I need?
Questions like these keep popping up on Facebook, Instagram, and especially in a booming WhatsApp group.
Thaiza Maria Silva Farias from Rio de Janeiro can answer her compatriots’ questions on this topic in her sleep.
The graduate nurse, who came to Germany in October 2016 and was soon working in the operating room of a Darmstadt clinic, is a pioneer in this field.
Faced with a shortage of staff in German hospitals and the daily impact on patients, she decided in 2022 to use her experience to create “Nursewelt” [Nurse World] to encourage her Brazilian colleagues to go to Germany.
The placement agency seems to have every opportunity to succeed, filling a gap in the market that is growing every year.
“I can help candidates professionally. On the other hand, I know exactly who is needed in the clinics in Germany,” Farias says.
“YOU CAN CHOOSE THE JOB”
In 1999, the German Federal Statistical Office estimated that 2 million residents of Germany required care.
By 2021, that number had risen to 5 million; experts believe it will reach 6.8 million by 2055.
At the same time, the number of skilled nursing staff is shrinking: in 2022, 53,300 started a nursing apprenticeship – 4,000 fewer than the year before, a decrease of 7%.
For every unemployed nurse in Germany, three vacancies are currently awaiting applicants.
So there is an “obvious shortage of skilled nursing staff,” as the Federal Employment Agency defines it.
“Here in Germany, you are free to choose your job; just see where you would like to work most,” Farias says.
“If you are unemployed, in a day or two, another offer will already come.”
In Brazil, getting a job is much harder.
“There, the competition is huge, with people who have studied for five years and sometimes have a master’s degree or even a doctorate and still can’t find a job because there are hardly any jobs.”
GERMAN MINISTERS HIRE IN PERSON
So regarding nursing and other care sectors, Brazil and Germany seem to be a perfect match.
At least that’s the opinion of German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, who will visit South America’s largest country in June with the head of the foreign ministry, Annalena Baerbock.
The trip is part of a recruitment strategy that includes countries such as Mexico and Indonesia.
“We will proceed very sensitively so as not to deprive the countries of the workers they need themselves,” Heil assured the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
The minister sees advantages for both sides.
“We benefit, the countries of origin benefit from our involvement in vocational training locally, and those who come here benefit from a well-paid job and perhaps also from the opportunity to financially support their families back home.”
A WIN-WIN SITUATION, THEN?
Patient advocates doubt that the gaps in care in Germany can be filled with skilled workers from abroad.
“The shortage of nursing staff is primarily a problem within Germany, so a few hundred Brazilian nurses won’t help either,” Eugen Brysch, chairman of the Patient Rights Foundation, told the DPA news agency.
According to the German Federal Employment Agency, only 656 foreign nurses were employed in the country in 2022, most from the Philippines.
WHO WINS, WHO LOSES?
And what about countries like Brazil and Mexico?
Do they benefit one hundred percent, or is Germany causing a brain drain from Latin America and taking skilled professionals away from countries that could use them in the future?
Mexican surgeon Xavier Tello takes a pragmatic view.
“This brain drain is completely normal in a globalized world.”
“If I have excellent training, and it is more appreciated abroad than in my home country, where working conditions are poor, and salaries are low, then it makes sense to take this step.”
The renowned Latin American healthcare specialist points out that few in the region are aware of efforts to recruit nurses abroad.
“But when they hear about it, their reaction tends to be, ‘Well, at least our nurses abroad get the recognition they don’t get at home.'”
Thaiza Maria Silva Farias knows the reasons that encourage Latin American nurses to try their luck in Germany: better quality of life, more security, salaries up to six times higher, and working for a single employer instead of two or three hospitals in Brazil.
NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT IN INTEGRATION
Nevertheless, Tello does not fear that his country will soon suffer from a shortage of nurses.
“Mexicans are very attached to their homeland.”
“To emigrate to Germany and learn a new, difficult language would be a big culture shock. That’s why it’s the last option for them.”
“Interesting: so far, it’s not seen here as a great career opportunity with a great salary.”
Nurse Farias notes that for some of her colleagues who pepper her with questions about moving to Europe, it’s more a phase in their lives and careers than the ultimate career change.
And if Ministers Heil and Baerbock want to attract nurses from Latin America, she also stresses that something has to change in Germany.
“Hospitals have to prepare better for their new employees. The staff usually lacks patience if you don’t speak German well.”
“We should give [foreign nurses] a year to master the language. Germany needs to integrate foreign nurses better.”
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