Advancing the region together – with this goal in mind, University President, Prof. Dr. Fritz Pörnbacher, Member of the State Parliament and Member of the Science Committee of Helmut Radlmeier, District Administrator Peter Dreier, Mayor of Landshut Alexander Putz and his Deputy Dr. Thomas Haslinger, recently met. The meeting addressed the proposed launch of the new “Physician Assistance – Arztassistenz” course. A course of this kind is long overdue in the region, said Radlmeier. “The Landshut region has excellently-developed hospital facilities. However, skilled staff are urgently required.” The new course is also designed to close a gap in the demand for labour.
Graduates of the Physician Assistance course can find employment in a wide range of fields: in organising and assisting in the operating theatre, in the area of administration in hospitals and other health care facilities, in assisting doctors in their private practices, in rural health care, in emergency medicine, as well as in medical technology. “At present, comparable courses are only available in Amberg-Weiden and Neu-Ulm,” emphasized Pörnbacher. “We would be the first to offer such a course in Lower Bavaria.”
A joint letter to the Minister of Science
In a joint letter, the president of the university and the political representatives addressed the Minister of Science, Bernd Sibler, so as to emphasise the advantages of such a course of study. The course would allow us to make an important contribution to local health care,” Putz said. “With an offer of this kind, we can make Landshut and the region more attractive,” added Dreier. According to Radlmeier, the Physician Assistance course could kill two birds with one stone: it would further raise the profile of the university help solve the problem of the shortage of skilled staff at the region’s hospitals.
On the part of the university, nothing stands in the way of a rapid implementation of the course. “With Midwifery and Biomedical Engineering, we are already offering two courses in the area of health care, which means we also have laboratory access,” emphasised Pörnbacher. “With our current internal resources, we are already in a position to take on the first students.” To ensure the course is a long-term success, however, the university is reliant on financial support from the ministry.
Photos: Landshut University of Applied Sciences/Thomas Kolbinger
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