Doctor / Physician / Medical Practitioner

Many doctors from other countries choose to do „Hospitationen“ in German hospitals and hope to find a job this way. We do not recommend this path, because it only slows down the necessary process towards getting a real job. Your best chance to pick up your career as a doctor in Germany quickly is to put all your energy into getting the documents listed below as soon as possible and and then apply as an „Assistenzarzt“ or „Facharzt“ via our job ads : German language skills certificate Level C1 Letter of motivation and C.V. / resumée in German German approval of your professional qualification (“Approbation”) by e. g. LaGeSo Berlin ( get German Approbation as a doctor from an EU country , get German Approbation as a doctor from a non-EU country ) We do not offer jobs or paid internships (“Hospitationen”) for doctors from foreign countries who are waiting for their German license to practice medicine (German “Approbation”). If you are still located in your home country and haven’t started the migration process (collection of necessary documents), we can’t accept your application.

Radiographer / Radiological technologist (MTRA)

To work with us as a radiographer / radiological technologist (in German: „Medizinischer Technologe für Radiologie“ / MTR or formerly „Medizinisch-Technischer Radiologieassistent“ / MTRA), you need… German language skills level B2 with an official certificate recognition of your professional qualification by German authorities ( apply for recognition here ) Please, apply via our job ads and include the listed documents. Get help with your recognition here: recognition@arbeitsagentur.de or here: Tel.: (030) 31510 – 900. Please, don’t confuse the terms „Radiologieassistent“ and „Assistenzarzt in der Radiologie“. If you are a doctor / physician / medical practitioner in the field of radiology you will want to apply as an „Assistenzarzt in der Radiologie“, not as a Radiologieassistent.

If you wish to work for us as a midwife, you need: German language skills certificate Level B2 recognition of your professional qualification by German authorities (e.g. „LaGeSo Berlin“, apply for a recognition as a midwife from a non-EU country here ) Please, apply via our job ads and include the listed documents. Get help with your recognition here: recognition@arbeitsagentur.de or here: Tel.: (030) 31510 – 900. If you receive a notice of deficiency by German authorities which says that you have to take an adaptation course („Anpassungskurs“), you can apply for the adaptation course at the Evangelische Hochschule Berlin (EHB) . If your application is successful, you will be asked to find an employer for the practical part of the training. In that case, we can be your employer! If you can incluce your notice of deficiancy by German authorities and your contract with Evangelische Hochschule Berlin, you may send us your application via our job ads .

Anesthesia Assistant / Scrub Nurse / Operating Room Nurse

If you wish to work for us as an anesthesia assistent (in German: „Anästhesietechnischer Assistent“ / ATA) oder scrub nurse / operating room nurse (in German: „Operationstechnischer Assistent“ /OTA), you need: German language skills certificate Level B2 recognition of your professional qualification by German authorities (e.g. „LaGeSo Berlin“) Get help with your recognition here: recognition@arbeitsagentur.de or here: Tel.: (030) 31510 – 900. If you receive a notice of deficiency by German authorities saying that you have to take an adaptation course („Anpassungskurs“), please apply here: Anpassungskurs für Operationstechnische Assistent*innen bei den DRK Kliniken Berlin We do not offer an Anpassungskurs for Anästhesietechnische Assistent*innen, but you can find one here: Amesol Akademie Hamburg Akademie der Gesundheit Berlin-Brandenburg

Do you offer an “Anpassungslehrgang” (adaptation course) or “Kenntnisstandprüfung” (level of knowledge test)?

Please, read your notice of deficiency carefully. German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“) might notify you that in order to get your professional qualification as a nurse approved you will need to take part in an adaptation course or level of knowledge test. We do not offer level of knowledge tests („Kenntnisprüfung“). But we do offer an adaptation course for nurses and an adaptation course for operating room nurses / scrub nurses . While taking the adaptation course you will have to work as an assistant nurse either in one of our hospitals or for another employer. Please, let us know in your letter of motivation, whether you are looking for a position as an assistant nurse in our company, too. If you work as an assistant nurse for a different employer and want to take part at the adaptation course at our educational center, please include a letter from your current employer stating that they will pay for your adaptation course and they guarantee you won’t have to work on school days.

What’s the difference between an „Anpassungskurs“ and an apprenticeship for nurses?

An „Anpassungslehrgang“, also called „Anpassungskurs“ oder „Anpassungsqualifizierung“, is a relatively short adaptation course in which international qualified nurses learn missing skills. German authorities (e.g. „LaGeSo Berlin“) will tell you how long your Anpassungskurs will have to be. It may, for example, take 6, 7 1/2 or 13 months, depending on the country you come from and the kind of skills and qualification you bring from your home country. An Anpassungskurs is the quickest way to get fully approved as a nurse in Germany. But there are not many adaptation courses offered in Germany, so it is kind of hard to find one (see question “Do you offer an Anpassungslehrgang?”). Another opportunity is to apply for the regular apprenticeship for people who want to become nurses in Germany. That way you acquire a German qualification as a nurse at an educational center with German trainees. Nurses in Germany don’t go to university but take part in an apprenticeship. An apprenticeship for an assistant nurse takes 1,5 years, an apprenticeship for a professional nurse takes 3 years. There are also short forms of German qualification for example called “Pflegebasiskurs” which take only a few weeks or months. These are not the qualifications you need, if you want to work in our hospitals! You need at least the 1,5 years apprenticeship or the adaptation course for international nurses.

Can I apply if I don't speak German?

Please do not apply before you speak at least level B2 German and can present a certificate. Since you will work with people in need, you will have to be able to talk to them. Applicants who don’t speak German at all, don’t have a certificate or send resumées and letters of motivation in English or any other language than German are unlikely to be accepted. If you wish to take part in a German apprenticeship we even ask for a level C1 certificate (although legally, level B2 would be sufficient) because our experiences are that B2 is not sufficient to follow the classes. Applicants for (assistant) doctor positions need a C1 certificate.

Information for International Applicants

Our company consists of four hospitals, a nursing home and a hospice in four different locations in Berlin. The company belongs to DRK-Schwesternschaft Berlin e.V., which is a non-religious association within the international Red Cross / Red Crescent movement. Please, do not confuse DRK Kliniken Berlin with national or regional Red Cross / DRK organizations. We are part of the same movement but not connected in business. Find out how to get a job in our company here.

How to get a job as a ...

Professional Nurse (with a Bachelor of Nursing)

To apply for a job as a nurse in our hospitals, please include:

recognition of your professional qualification as a nurse by German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“)
German language skills certificate „Level B2“
if you want to increase your chances, include a letter of motivation in German and proof of working experience as a nurse

Get help with your recognition here: recognition@arbeitsagentur.de or here: Tel.: (030) 31510 – 900.

Nursing Assistant / "Pflegefachkraft in Anerkennung"

You can work as an assistant nurse if …

you applied for the recognition of your Bachelor of Nursing by German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“) and received a notice of deficiency which says that you have to take an adaptation course („Anpassungskurs“). In this case, please apply for our Anpassungskurs which includes school lessons and a job as an assistant nurse in one of our hospitals.
you didn’t achieve a Bachelor of Nursing in your home country, but did some other kind of professional training as a nurse and received the recognition as „Gesundheits- und Krankenpflegehelfer“ or „Pflegefachassistent*in“ by German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“). In this case, apply via our job ads for Pflegefachassistent*innen and include your recognition certificate and an official German language skills certificate level B2 or higher.

Get help with your recognition here: recognition@arbeitsagentur.de or here: Tel.: (030) 31510 – 900.

Nurse or Nursing Assistant in training

We offer a three-year training as a nurse („Pflegefachmann“ or „Pflegefachfrau“) and a one-and-a-half-year-training as a nursing assistant („Pflegefachassistent*in“). The trainings are free of charge, you will earn a salary. Please find our application forms for the trainings here and include:

your graduation certificate from high school approved by German authorities (find information here)
official German language skills certificate at level C1 (legally, level B2 is sufficient, but we find that trainees can’t follow our classes before they have reached level C1)
proof of a three-week nursing internship (apply for an internship here)
letter of motivation in German
C.V. / resumée in German
residence permit (visa)
working permit by the Foreigners’ Registration Office
copies of the original documents, translated

Meet Neil from the Philippines

Neil was a nurse in a big hospital with 600 beds in the Philippines for 6 years. Because he wanted to support his family financially, he decided to come to Germany as a migrant worker. Today Neil works in our trauma surgery department. Get to now him and his story in the video (in German). Or read his story in English here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which steps are necessary before I can apply?

The legal process is a little tricky. There are many different regulations depending on which country you come from, which job you want to take and whether you are a regular international applicant / migrant / person granted asylum or a refugee / asylum seeker. To sum up, we can say that – depending on your individual background – you might need:

an recognition of your professional qualification by German authorities, e.g. „LaGeSo Berlin“ (Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales, Berlin)
or (if applying for an apprenticeship / training) a recognition of your school diploma by Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Berlin
a translation of your professional qualification or school diploma
an employment contract or preliminary contract by a German employer (see question “Do you offer preliminary contracts?”)
a general working permit from the Foreigners’ Registration Office
a permission from our Federal Employment Agency to work in the specific position that has been offered to you
a residence permit (visa)

Important advice: Take as many necessary steps as you can before applying at our company. Get help with the legal process by a counselling service. Try to find a German native speaker who volunteers to translate your C.V., helps you with the forms and accompanies you to appointments with the authorities. Find more information in English on this website by the German government: anerkennung-in-deutschland.de

Which common mistake should I avoid?

If you already received the recognition of your professional qualification („Anerkennung“, „Erlaubnis zur Führung der Berufsbezeichnung Pflegefachfrau*Pflegefachmann“, „Approbation“) by German authorities, please present it as the most important information at the very beginning of your application!

We receive many applications from international candidates who can’t present their recognition documents, yet. So if you hide them somewhere in the back of your application, we will tend to believe that you can’t present them, either. Don’t start your C.V. or letter of motivation with information about your school education or your professional experiences in your home country or with the story of your migration, but with the very clear hint for us, that you can present your recognition documents by German authorities.

Do you offer preliminary contracts?

German authorities (e. g. „LaGeSo Berlin“) might notify you that you need a preliminary contract in order for them to approve your professional qualification.

We can help you with a document stating our interest in seeing your application and considering your employment. In most cases this will be sufficient for the authorities and they will process your request. Please, ask for this document at bewerbung@drk-kliniken-berlin.de.

However, this is not a firm commitment that we will offer you a job. And it is not a preliminary contract. We will still have to check and process your application.

DRK Kliniken Berlin

DRK-Schwesternschaft Berlin

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