The current state of medical education in the Federal Republic of Germany and some of its problems †

Summary The current problems facing medical education in the Federal Republic of Germany can be accounted for largely by the effects of the Regulations for Doctors’ Licences introduced in 1970. The causes are complex, but the most important factors include: centralised multiple choice examinations which make students orientate their learning towards memorizing facts rather than acquiring medical skills; too little clinical experience, a scarcity of training opportunities (the intake of medical students has grown sharply over the last few years to between 11 000 and 12 000 a year); too few patients; and insufficiently experienced teachers.