[Abolishment of the AiP. Transformation and further regulations].

Abolishment of the time as a physician in training (intern) in Germany on 1 October 2004 completed the reform of the education of doctors and the total time of education was reduced to 6 years. So the wages of young doctors could be raised and the aim is that these doctors will begin their jobs in hospitals in Germany and not abroad, so that this will be a measure to counteract the regional shortage of doctors. To finance the difference between the wages of the former trainees and now the young doctors in the hospitals, the German law about modernisation of the social health security system ("GKV-Modernisierungsgesetz") ensured that a budget of about 300 million euros would be provided to the hospitals by German health insurance companies. Implementation of this reform in general caused no problems. This can be ascribed to the fact that there are more than 3,000 open jobs for young doctors in German hospitals today.