Country members/ Germany / News
News from Germany September 2009
On 3rd July 2009 a law passed parliament giving occupational therapy and the other therapeutic professions more flexibility in how to design the training. The law will come into effect at the end of October. It is expected that in the next year or so further university courses will be initiated. These will be ‘model’ courses and the Ministry of health must evaluate them by the end of 2015. At present the law is limited until 2017 but according to the result of the evaluation it is hope that this time limit will be lifted.
This year the association launched a new extended homepage. Within the members closed there is a great deal of information to download for those who want it. This includes an ever growing list of summaries in German of suitable assessment instruments and summaries of relevant scientific articles, again in German. This is all a contribution to encourage more and more evidence based practice.
The bi-annual expert report for the ministry of health has again said there needs to be improved coordination and integration in the health system. Further it notes that there are still large deficits in the out-patient therapeutic resources in the rural areas of the country.
In March 2009 the UN convention on the rights of the handicapped became law this stresses the necessity of greater inclusiveness in society in general, this should include the whole educational system so that this will bring about changes in the school system and may open up increased chances for occupational therapy in schools.
News from Germany March 2009
Since the beginning of 2009 the German Association (Deutscher Verband der Ergotherapeuten – DVE) has a new website with a new design – take a look and see: www.dve.info
During March 2009 the EBP pages for members will have a new section added, this is the start of a guide of assessment instruments for occupational therapists in German. At the beginning there will be about twenty in the list but it will be continually added to and in time the descriptions will be up-dated. The EBP pages are proving to be very popular with members so it is clear that it is a service which is well appreciated.
No increase in membership fees.
Although prices in general are rising and the service the DVE provides for its members increases the council was very pleased to be able to approve a budget which does not rely on increasing the membership fee. The last increase was in 2009 when the frequency of the journal was extended from six to twelve a year.
Health politics continue to be a major part of the work done by the executive and council of the association. This includes negotiations for reimbursement for private practice as well as discussions with the ministry of health concerning the budgets for doctors who face penalties if they are exceeded by too many referrals. Due to the federal nature of the country there are discussions on these topics at both federal and at state level. In 2009 there will be a general election so that the DVE is putting together a catalogue of matters which are of especial concern for the profession for lobbying the parties.
The association continues to work successfully with the medical societies on the development of clinical guidelines ensuring that occupational therapy in included where relevant.
The annual congress will be held from 22nd to 24th May in Cologne. The programme is available online at http://kongress.dve.info/index.php Once again there is an interesting variety of papers and workshops covering all areas of interest to occupational therapists. For anyone considering attending the ‘early bird’ registration closes on 19th April 2009.
News from Germany September 2008
At the annual general meeting (AGM) in June Silke Reinhartz was elected onto the executive for the position of education and research in place of Maria Miesen whose term of office had ended.
As from 1st September Mr Jan Steinmetzer has been appointed by the association to develop a German language data bank of studies and literature (not only in the German language) relevant to OT. Furthermore together with Sabine George of the executive and a working group from council members the list of assessments is being updated and expanded to give more information about the assessments.
The DVE home-page has a new area for evidence based practice (EBP) within the membership only zone. Here there are already some summaries in German of useful articles and studies. This is being constantly increased. There are also links to appropriate date banks.
The education committee of the association is working on a change to the laws concerning the qualification of occupational therapists in two ways. It is hoped to introduce a ‘Model clause’ for the health professions, which will enable universities to hold the state examinations – at present this is confined to vocational schools. Secondly the whole basis of the education of OTs should be based on the tuning competencies instead of on the acquisition of facts.
March 2008
EUROPEAN CONGRESS 2008‘ Investing for progress’
The preparations for the COTEC Congress (www.cotec2008.dve.info) are now into the intensive stage and the number of registrations is growing. The ‘early bird’ price ends at the end of March so interested OTs are advised to register without delay. We look forward to welcoming you there!
Politics
The developments on the political front keep the association busy. Together with other health professions the association is working for changes in the law covering occupational therapy. From experience it is know that this requires a great deal of work and time.
A difference in the administration of out-patient treatment is leading to an electronic method of referral which it is hoped with provide greater transparency for all concerned.
Publicity
OT Journal – Ergotherapie und Rehabilitation has been published in a new design with full colour as from February 2008.
Working together with a press agency seems to be having a positive effect and OT is being mentioned more often in the media.
The association is updating many of the leaflets, which are published to provide information especially for service users. The website is being redesigned and updated, it will be going online soon.
This year the annual general meeting will be held on a Saturday in Berlin and not in conjunction with the congress. There will be a lecture and possibility of visiting various OT practices. This will be an interesting experience for the association.