TY - JOUR T1 - Overcoming obstacles along the pathway to integration for Syrian healthcare professionals in Germany JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001534 VL - 4 IS - 4 SP - e001534 AU - Aula Abbara AU - Diana Rayes AU - Maryam Omar AU - Ammar Zakaria AU - Faisal Shehadeh AU - Henriette Raddatz AU - Annabelle Böttcher AU - Ahmad Tarakji Y1 - 2019/08/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/4/4/e001534.abstract N2 - Summary boxGermany faces a shortage of doctors with conservative estimates suggesting a shortfall of 15 000 doctors; this could rise to 111 000 by 2030.Over 1 million refugees have arrived in Germany of whom several thousand are healthcare workers; however, few studies explore their registration process and integration into Germany’s health system.We discuss challenges faced by Syrian healthcare workers in Germany to enter the workforce, such as cultural and linguistic barriers, decentralised bureaucratic processes and long delays in obtaining and ratifying diplomas.We suggest policy recommendations including collaboration and leadership from German doctors’ associations, healthcare workers and policymakers to support the successful integration of Syrian healthcare workers into Germany’s federal health system.Successful integration of Syrian healthcare workers into the German healthcare system could be cost-effective and could support the provision of culturally and linguistically sensitive healthcare to Arabic-speaking and Kurdish-speaking populations in Germany.The Syrian war has resulted in over 5.6 million refugees, the majority of whom reside in the neighbouring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.1 Since 2015, over 1 million refugees, the majority of whom are from Syria, entered Europe through Greece in the hope of transitioning to Northern European countries to seek asylum. Germany was the favoured destination for many refugees due to its welcoming policies for integration, which include liberal asylum laws, healthcare and educational advantages and pre-existing familial links.2 As of December 2018, there are nearly 700 000 Syrians living in Germany, a large increase from 2016 due to positive decisions on asylum claims as well as resettlements.3A significant number who sought asylum in Germany hold professional qualifications and university degrees, including medical doctors, dentists and other healthcare workers.4 Although there are no official numbers, the German Medical Association states that the largest influx of foreign doctors in the past year are … ER -