Rural doctor quota: The alternative route to a place at medical school

Due to the high demand for GPs in rural areas, many federal states now reserve some of the available medical study places for applicants who contractually commit to working as a GP after their studies. This special quota offers you the chance to realise your dream of studying medicine even if your A-level grades do not qualify you for a place via the Numerus Clausus (NC) is sufficient.

What is the rural doctor quota?

The rural doctor quota reserves a portion of the places for medical studies for candidates who will work as a GP in rural areas after graduation. The obligation to do this work is set out in a contract.

If you receive one of the study places allocated via the rural doctor quota and do not fulfil the contract, this can result in a high contractual penalty. In this way, the state governments ensure that care for people in rural areas really is significantly improved by the rural doctor quota.

In which federal states is there a rural doctor quota?

Education in Germany is a matter for the federal states. This also affects the detailed allocation of study places and therefore also the state doctor quota. Not in every federal state you can therefore Obtain a place to study medicineif you commit to working as a rural doctor after graduation. The rural doctor quota is only an option for studying in the following federal states:

• Baden-Württemberg
• Lower Saxony
• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
• North Rhine-Westphalia
• Saxony-Anhalt
• Saxony
• Thuringia
• Hesse
• Saarland
• Bavaria
• Rhineland-Palatinate

Application procedure and deadlines

How exactly the Application for medical studies The procedure for the rural doctor quota depends on the individual federal states. Students must submit their documents on time and in full, as there is usually no request to submit missing documents. If proof of a certain qualification is missing, this can drastically reduce your chances.

Selection process

The selection process is also different in the individual federal states. While A-level grades play a role in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, places in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria are awarded completely independently of the A-level average.

In Baden-Württemberg, only the aptitude test and any professional experience you may have play a role. In Bavaria, additional points are awarded if you have completed an FSJ or have done voluntary work.

The contract

When applying via the rural doctor quota, prospective medical students are obliged to complete further training in general medicine or internal medicine and work as a rural doctor for a specified period of time (ten years in most federal states). This is intended to meet the demand for GPs in underserved rural regions.

Contractual obligations and consequences

If you do not work as a GP in the countryside, even though you have been awarded a place via the rural doctor quota, you will have to pay a high contractual penalty. In most federal states, this amounts to 250,000 euros.

Fortunately, if you do not complete your studies or are unable to fulfil the contract due to external circumstances, you will not be fined.

The rural doctor quota explained using the example of North Rhine-Westphalia

As the funding of rural doctors is decided by the respective state government, the exact provisions for the rural doctor quota, the corresponding allocation of study places and the duration of the obligation vary. We have chosen North Rhine-Westphalia as an example and will now explain the conditions for doctors there who wish to study medicine via the rural doctor quota.

7.8 per cent of study places are reserved for the rural doctor quota

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the state government reserves 7.8 per cent of study places for students who commit to completing further training as a specialist in internal medicine or general medicine immediately after completing their medical studies and then working as GPs in rural areas.

The selection procedure for the allocation of medical study places

Access to the study places reserved via the quota is regulated in several stages. Firstly, there is a written application procedure. Following this procedure, the best applicants are then invited to a selection interview.

Stage 1: Preselection

The first step is a pre-selection based on the applications submitted. The Abitur grade and results from the test for medical degree programmes (TMS) come into play. However, people with professional experience have the best chance of obtaining one of the medical study places allocated as part of the rural doctor quota, as this is valued at 40 %.

Stage 2: Selection interview

The best applicants from the pre-selection will be invited to a personal interview. The aim of this interview is to ensure that the best prospective doctors are selected for GP care in rural areas.

Which applicants are offered a place on the medical degree programme?

A ranking list of applicants is compiled from the points collected in the written application and the selection interview. This list is then used to allocate study places for the next winter or summer semester.

The contract

Access to the study of human medicine as part of the rural doctor quota is linked to a contractual obligation. You undertake to complete the specialist training programme and then work as a GP in rural areas for ten years.

The contract is signed before the start of the programme and is a basic requirement. In this way, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia aims to safeguard the health and care of the population in rural regions.

The contractual penalty

Anyone who culpably breaches their contractual obligations must pay a contractual penalty of 250,000 euros in accordance with the North Rhine-Westphalia Rural Doctors Act. This applies if the medical activity is not taken up at the assigned location or if another specialist training programme is carried out that does not serve to provide GP care and is therefore not in the interests of the rural population.

The last date for withdrawing from the application is 30 December in the summer semester and 30 June in the winter semester. If you do not withdraw, you must fulfil the contract if no serious reasons intervene during your training or while working as a doctor.

Alternatives to the rural doctor quota

The rural doctor quota is not the only way to find a doctor after all. Medical study place if this is not possible via the regular award procedure. We would like to take this opportunity to present three common alternatives.

1) The quota for the public health service

Similar to the rural doctor quota, you can commit yourself to this activity in the service of the state via the quota for the public health service. Baden-Württemberg and other federal states are trying to meet the demand for doctors in the public health service.

2) Additional aptitude quota and university selection procedures

Not all university places are awarded on the basis of the A-level average. You can score points in the additional aptitude quota with a good test for medical degree programmes (TMS), for example, and a voluntary social year can also be taken into account here. Universities set their own criteria for the selection process.

3) Study abroad

Studying medicine abroad can also be a good alternative. In other countries, admission is often not based on the NC. At futuredoctor, we can help you find a suitable place at a renowned university in another European country.