Majority of Medical Students Open to Opening Their Own Practice

Good Infrastructure a Prerequisite for Setting Up Practice

Scholarships or grants for setting up a practice are important and are explicitly sought after by students, emphasized TK Director Alexander Krauß. Policymakers and self-governing bodies should expand these offerings in a targeted manner.

At the same time, rural communities must highlight their locational advantages: good infrastructure, assistance with setting up a practice and finding housing, as well as reliable educational opportunities for children could be the deciding factors in convincing young doctors to settle in the area permanently.

Filling Vacancies in Rural Medical Practices Is a Problem

According to Stefan Windau, Chairman of the Board of the Saxony Association of Panel Physicians, demographic change is making it particularly difficult to fill vacancies in medical practices, especially in Saxony’s rural regions. “Supporting continuing education and the work of panel doctors is a key component here for ensuring comprehensive outpatient care across the region in the future. However, well-functioning regional infrastructures that serve the entire community are also crucial.”

Young Doctors Want a Balance Between Family and Career

Another finding from the survey: For nearly all of the students surveyed (98 percent) who can envision setting up their own practice or are still undecided, a good work-life balance—balancing career, family, and personal life—is particularly important as a motivation for establishing their own practice. Also important are more flexible work arrangements and reliably predictable working hours (95 percent), fewer on-call, night, and weekend shifts (88 percent), and more time to treat patients (78 percent).

Almost all students want targeted preparation during their medical studies

92 percent of students want targeted preparation for setting up their own practice already during their medical studies. Business, legal, and administrative topics related to running their own practice are particularly important to them. A look at Bavaria reveals possible approaches, the report continued. There, the elective course “Setting Up a Practice with Confidence” is already offered at the universities of Munich, Erlangen, and Würzburg. 

“A similar program at medical schools in Saxony could help alleviate students’ concerns and give them greater confidence as they take the step toward self-employment,” emphasized TK CEO Krauß.

The survey was conducted in cooperation with the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences in Zwickau. The survey was carried out in November and December 2025. A total of 63 medical students in Saxony were surveyed. They were 25 years old on average, predominantly female, and the majority were from Saxony.

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