Dental News - Interview: “I know four dentists who have returned to Syria”

Search Dental Tribune

Interview: “I know four dentists who have returned to Syria”

Now into a ten-month journey to be eligible to work in dentistry in Germany, Syrian dentist Hassan Abdulla hopes to be practising again by January 2018. (Photograph: Luke Gribble)
Dental Tribune International

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 23. October 2017

save

LEIPZIG, Germany: “Fake news” and “post-truth” might be words of the day, but for 27-year-old Syrian dentist Hassan Abdulla the actual fact is that, owing in part to complicated bureaucratic systems and structures, he has been forced into receiving government aid for much longer than he ever intended. Dental Tribune Online met with him at his home to find out more about his studies and work life and his experience in trying to integrate into Germany and its dentistry workforce.

Why did you decide to come to Germany, and what were your plans?
I decided to come to Germany because late in 2014 I received a letter from the Syrian government informing me that I was required to do two years’ military service. To avoid this, I applied for a one-year student visa and arrived here, by plane, in December 2015. My plan was to study German and get my B2 language competence certificate, which would then allow me to apply for my medical licence and eventually change my student visa to a work visa. The process has unfortunately taken much longer than expected, and returning to Syria is simply not an option because I would be forced into the military. It was due to this and the obvious situation in Syria that, after my one-year student visa expired, I had to apply for refugee status.

What is the process for you to be able to work as a dentist in Germany, and why has it taken so long?
To be able to work as a dentist one needs two things; firstly, to pass the Fachsprachenprüfung or medical language and competence exam, and secondly, an Approbation or medical licence. However, before one can apply to sit the exam and apply for one’s medical licence, one needs to have a letter of interest from a potential employer. Without this letter, one is not able to do anything. One also needs to have a B2 level of German or higher—I have C1, and C2 is the highest one can reach. Additionally, one has to present all one’s education certificates, from high school through to university, including one’s university syllabus. It all needs to be translated of course. One also needs police checks from both Germany and one’s home country, in my case Syria, and a certificate of good standing from the dental body in one’s country—the Syrian Dental Association in my case—that confirms one hasn’t been involved in any maltreatment cases.

When one has all of these documents, one can sit the Fachsprachenprüfung. It consists of three parts: patient conversation, written communication and verbal communication with other dentists. If one passes that, one’s documents will be checked to make sure one’s education is equivalent to the German standard. If everything goes well, one will receive one’s medical licence and can then work as an assistant dentist, but only within the region in which one has applied.

I think it has taken so long, in part, because of how the system is structured, but also due to increasing forgery of Syrian medical documents. Because of this, the German government decided to add an additional exam for Syrian doctors and dentists. It’s called a Kenntnisprüfung and one has to sit it within the two-year period as an assistant dentist. Once one has passed that, one is able to work anywhere in Germany as a fully qualified dentist.

Do you have a letter of interest from a prospective employer?
I do now, but it has taken me ten months. Many people were not interested in speaking with me. I think I have contacted over 100 dentists throughout Germany and either there was no reply or I was told that without my medical licence it made no sense to meet. And I totally understand their point of view. I mean, I don’t have a visa that allows me to work in dentistry, I haven’t sat the competence exam and I have no medical licence—why would anyone want to draft a contract for a potential worker if they are not sure he or she would even be eligible to work? I even wanted to gain some form of work experience in a practice in order to improve my CV and to get to know dentists and to get an overview of German clinics; however the job centre wouldn’t allow me to do that because I wouldn’t be getting paid—despite it being the best way to get to know dentists and improve my chances of finding work.

Some people say that the level of medical education in Arab countries like Syria is not as good as in Germany. What did your dental studies entail?
The degree itself takes a total of five years. The first year is mostly all theory—we study the sciences, anatomy, physics and so on. I would say it is a complete overview of the human body. In the second year, we continue with the sciences, but in even more detail. Parallel to this, we begin to look more into the world of dentistry. We make teeth from wax and soap for example—to understand the anatomy of the tooth itself and to improve our technical craft. In the third year, we begin working on phantom heads. This is where we really begin with the practical side of things and developing our technical skills.

Of course, there are also exams. Two main ones per year, plus the practical exams. One has to pass the practical exams before one can sit the theory exams. The lecturers are really critical and pedantic. Many of them did their PhDs in Europe.

The fourth and fifth years are quite similar in that one begins to treat one’s own patients at the university clinic. One also works in departments, such as surgery, oral and restorative. We need to work on a total of 23 cases per semester, and everything we do needs to be signed off by the lecturer.

In the fifth year, we have our two main exams, and at the end of the final semester, one sits the Syrian national exam for dentists. Everyone who is in the fifth year sits the exam on the same day and receives the same questions. I got 76.26 per cent. The best students got 82 per cent. Getting 100 per cent is simply not possible; the lecturers would never allow it.

Do you know dentists who have returned to Syria, and in your opinion, how could the system be improved to help quicken the process and what more could you have done?
I know four dentists who have returned to Syria and another who is planning to leave soon. They simply got too frustrated with the system. They wanted to work, not receive government aid. Some of them were here for the same reasons as I am and went straight back and into the military—that is hard for me to accept. Of course, there needs to be background checks if one comes from overseas and wants to work here, but to me the system is structured completely the wrong way around and because of it I have been forced into needing government aid for much longer than I ever intended or wanted. I’m not saying the idea of two exams is bad, not at all, that’s important. But I think it is illogical that dentists must have a letter of interest from a potential employer before being able to do anything. I think allowing people to sit the Fachsprachenprüfung first would increase their chances of being able to find work because prospective employers would know for certain that they could begin working more or less immediately and not in three or four months. Perhaps, the only thing I could have done better was not to have listened to the job centre and done what I thought was best for me.

Best case scenario, when do you think you could be working, and what would you say to those who question you being in Germany?
If everything goes well with all the exams, I could be working within four months. I still need a few documents to be translated, but at the very latest, I should have sat the exams and have all the necessary information and paperwork by January.

It might have been forced military service that influenced me to leave Syria, but I had always planned to travel. I want to see the world, experience new things and build a life for myself. I don’t see any difference between that and someone who wants to move from Germany to England in search of something new. My goal was always to learn the language, find a job, contribute to society and to the community—that hasn’t changed just because I’m currently a refugee.

One thought on “Interview: “I know four dentists who have returned to Syria”

  1. ALI says:

    How can i contact with him please

To post a reply please login or register
advertisement
advertisement