The answer came from his heart. “It is the fate of Ulysses. We stayed in Germany for 13 years, now we want to return home, for the children to slowly enter the Greek education system”.

Doctor Petros Petridis, curator of Orthopedics and Traumatology at St. Anna Hospital of the city of Herne, one of the largest clinics in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, made the great decision to return with his family to Thessaloniki, the city where he grew up and studied medicine. “That’s where I have my life,” he tells Deutsche Welle.

“My wife and I decided that the children should follow the Greek education system. My son is 6 years old. We also have our parents who want to see their children.”

“One way” is the return to the private sector

A difficult decision for those Greek doctors who have worked hard to get into the German way of life and work and are at the zenith of a successful career. But not for Petros Petridis. His first experience with the Greek system was very positive. “Greece has positively surprised me in recent years,” he told us. “I wanted to make my profession recognized in Greece, in the medical association. And all this electronically. The process took a few days. On Sunday I submitted the application, on Thursday I got the approval. Within a few days everything went quickly and smoothly”. The Greek doctor nevertheless characterizes this step as a “meteor”, because his choice to practice his profession privately is for him a one-way street due to the etiologies of the NHS.

“In Greece I will necessarily join the private sector, I will have my own practice, this is how I will take my first steps. I am in search, but I believe that everything will be fine”. Helping in this difficult undertaking is the Association of Greek Doctors of North Rhine-Westphalia “Genesis”, the German state with over 130,000 Greeks, one of the largest Greek communities in Europe. It was founded in 2015 out of the need for mostly final year doctors to leave crisis-stricken Greece and find a specialization position in Germany more quickly. In this the Association was a valuable helper. Not only has it helped young doctors overcome the problems of searching for a specialty in a suitable clinic and the maze of German bureaucracy, but it also helps those who now want to return home.

As Yannis Giannakopoulos, president of the Association, deputy director of the Orthopedic Clinic at the Public Hospital of the city of Netetal, told us: “We strongly support brain gain, i.e. the return of brains to Greece. We contribute to this as much as we can with our relationship with Greek Medical Associations, but also with the support of Greek doctors in Germany in various matters, such as specializations that are not recognized in Greece. In all of these, we try very hard as an Association to help the transition of Greek doctors in Germany to Greece”.

At an event last week at the always welcoming Consulate General of Dusseldorf hosted by the Consul General Mr. Vassilis Koinis, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Association and the Medical Association of Thessaloniki. “We want to help from our side those who want to return to Greece to overcome the Greek bureaucracy” says Nikos Nitsas, president of the Medical Association of the co-capital to DW. “Let’s help them make the dream of returning a reality. The level of benefits in Greece is high, the standard of living has changed from what it was in the past.”

Dimitris Tsamis, former president of the Medical Association of Thessaloniki, speaks for a win-win cooperation from both sides. “What we are waiting for is for the knowledge and expertise of all these colleagues to come to Greece. We are willing to help remove bureaucratic and other obstacles, and in the future to utilize the experience. Because the Greek system has proven to be lame and those colleagues who have experience, they can help to improve the Greek public system which is quite rigid and dysfunctional. But the private sector is open to those who dare and can and know how to practice medicine successfully. So anyone who wants to come to Greece has a bright field of glory , but anyone who wants to come and join the public system will have more steps to go through.”

“There is no secret recipe for success”

However, the primary goal of the Association remains Mentoring, the guidance of younger doctors. At the event, five renowned doctors in their specialty, all self-made, answered questions that concern many medical graduates. Professor Xenophon Baraliakos, director of the Rheumatology center in the city of Herne, emphasized the importance of scientific research for the career in combination with clinical experience. Christos Krogias, professor of Neurology at the Evangelical Hospital of the same city, focused on the importance of certified continuing education.

Professor Kostas Goussias, director of Neurosurgery at St. Marien Hospital in Linen, said there is no secret recipe for success, one should recognize one’s mistakes and become better. Dr. Yannis Dimitriou, director of the surgical clinic at Sankt Marien Hospital in Birr and St. Barbara Hospital in Gladbeck, advises choosing a hospital that also offers continuing education opportunities. Finally, Dr. Alexandra Bartholomeou, gynecologist at Bethanien Hospital in Mers, transferred the experience and difficulties of the dual role of a new mother and doctor in a demanding professional arena.

“Did you find the evening informative?” we asked Simeon Becker, who started his specialty as a Traumatologist – Orthopedic. “Having already worked for a year in Germany, I have found my own answers,” he told us. “I came more because I have many colleagues in Greece who want to come and I’m looking for better answers. The matter of returning is purely emotional. Objectively I have no reason to return, but I definitely want to return at some point.”

Vassilis Tokis just finished Medicine in Alexandroupoli. “I’m in a transitional stage,” he says, “I haven’t decided if I’ll continue here. I found the meeting very informative. I got answers for some first steps. The club is a push for us, because there’s fear, where are we going, what awaits us, what will face, the language, the unknown. However, if I come to Germany, at some point I want to return.”

The nosto of Odysseus is present in every Greek doctor who works and has a career in Germany, no matter how high a position he has achieved. According to the surgeon Leonidas Karapanos, director of the Department of Neurourology at the University Clinic of Cologne, the decision to return is made up of many factors, such as family and working conditions that allow for a decent living and professional development. However, despite any progress in Greece, it is still necessary to adapt to another system of work, mentality, organization, which guarantees meritocracy, without having to be in the system or rely on family relationships. With Greek public health remaining the great patient that makes every step back a “meteor”. After all, the NSS is its own enemy…