Military Spouse; Moving to Stuttgart, Germany

Rachel Frederick

Hello! I am a practicing OT of 5 years in various settings in SNF, inpatient rehabilitation and most recently home health. I have worked in Tennessee, Missouri, Virginia and Louisiana. My husband received orders for Germany and we will be arriving in June. I have searched multiple sites and have reached out to the director for employment in the Army for jobs but it appears my chances of continuing to practice as an OT are slim to none. I am looking for any leads or guidance from anyone familiar with working as an OT in Germany. I absolutely love what I do and would love to continue practicing if I can for the next three years.

Danke,
Rachel Frederick

chantallandry

Have you received any more information with regards to working as an OT in Germany?

InaRoosen_Germany

Hi there,

just some short informations: You have to learn German in order to work in Germany. You also need to make sure that your degree is recognised by the Landesprüfungsamt of the state that you will live in (thats the instituation which makes sure that your degree fulfills the requirements to work as an OT in Germany). After that process is finished successfully you can apply for a German OT certificate (in German "Berufsurkunde") - without this certificate you won't be allowed to work as OT in Germany.

You can find lots of information on OT in Germany (including job offers) on this websites:
www.dve.info
www.ergotherapie.de (including an active forum with OTs all over Germany)

Currently there is a big shortage of OTs in Germany - so after going through the approval procedure there is a fair chance in finding a job!

Kind regards,
Ina

blbell

Hello I am an OT student and we recently learned about Telehealth! With iPhones and other video chatting devices we are able to keep in touch with people all over the world. It's really interesting and could solve your problem!

dezsic

Rachel,
Did you end up finding work in Germany? I would love to chat. I am an Occupational therapist that will also be moving to Germany with military boyfriend.

RHM

Hi Rachel, I would be very interested in hearing how you went registering to work as an OT in Germany ☺️