Vorarlberg awards reserved medical places for first time

Vorarlberg has awarded all three medical places it reserves at the University of Innsbruck for the first time, ORF reports. In previous years, the state had been unable to allocate any of the funded places.

The programme is intended to strengthen medical care in Vorarlberg and attract doctors to the state. Applicants must agree before starting their studies to work in Vorarlberg for at least five years after graduating.

The state changed the scheme this year to allow recipients to complete their required service in a hospital. Previously, they could work only in the public health service. The office of Vorarlberg Health Councillor Martina Rüscher told ORF that the change was the main reason the places could be awarded, as it attracted more applicants.

According to a statement from Rüscher’s office, 45 people signed training agreements with the state this year. Twelve qualified for regular medical places, while three received places under the reserved scheme.

The three recipients ranked among the top 25 percent in the University of Innsbruck’s admissions test but did not score enough points for a regular place. Applicants who secure a regular place are not eligible for a place reserved by the state.

The agreement requires recipients to work for at least five years as doctors in Vorarlberg’s public health service or as specialists in a Vorarlberg state hospital. They must also agree to complete their postgraduate training at a public hospital in Vorarlberg after finishing their medical studies.

In addition to the study place, the three recipients receive financial support from the state. Last year, this amounted to 1,035 euros per month, along with a travel subsidy equivalent to an Austria-wide climate ticket. Anyone who ends their medical studies early must pay a penalty of more than 84,000 euros.

Rüscher described the first allocation of the funded places as “another important step” towards securing and developing high-quality medical care in Vorarlberg. The aim is to continue attracting enough qualified doctors to the public health system.