New medical students for the armed forces

This year, ten students, including three women for the first time, are starting their medical studies in the “Bundesheer” model. There are currently a total of 16 military medical students in training. For the third time, those interested have the opportunity to complete medical studies as part of their work in the armed forces. Those interested in the armed forces are intensively prepared for the entrance exam. Every year, up to ten people who pass the entrance test and are among the top 25 percent of applicants are accepted.

Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner: “Qualified specialist personnel are essential to ensure the medical care of our soldiers at home and abroad. Therefore, good training in the various specialist areas of medicine is of the highest priority. By studying medicine in the new “Federal Army” model, we can attract ambitious, future military doctors and thus secure medical jobs in the coming years. I am pleased that the previous training was successful again and that there are again so many prospective medical students from the Armed Forces this year – I wish you all the best for your studies!”

Another requirement is military cadre suitability. This year there were 39 interested people, eleven of whom were women, who took the entrance test for the armed forces. A total of 11,904 candidates took part in the test to get one of the 1,900 study places. The future military doctors will be accepted into the armed forces on a special contract. The studies take place during service at the Medical University of Vienna. After their training, the employees spend eight to eleven years working in the armed forces at home and abroad. During your studies, costs incurred, such as tuition fees, will be reimbursed and accommodation will be provided. The military medical students have the rank of “ensign”. In addition to general medicine, the future specialist areas of the prospective doctors also include the fields of anesthesia, ophthalmology, surgery, dermatology, ENT, internal medicine, neurology, orthopedics, psychiatry, radiology and trauma surgery.

The diverse tasks of military doctors include caring for soldiers at home, accompanying troops in crisis regions and training medical personnel in international operations. As a doctor in Germany you work in the special hospitals in Vienna, Graz, Hörsching or Innsbruck. Military doctors have the opportunity to contribute their medical expertise to missions or disasters while deployed abroad. They are also responsible for examinations before the start of foreign missions as well as for aeromedical and sports medical examinations.