FMH statistics show doctors of retirement age
According to FMH statistics, 36,175 doctors were working last year. A long-term comparison shows that primary care providers in the outpatient sector are increasingly practising beyond retirement age. Both the proportion of women and the proportion of doctors with a foreign diploma continued to rise.
The FMH statistics underline the fact that a total of 36,175 doctors were employed in this country in 2016. Men still make up the majority of the medical profession with 58.7 percent. But the proportion of women has increased by 37.9 percent since 2010.
A majority of 51.1 percent of physicians work in the outpatient sector - 47.3 percent work in the inpatient sector. 23 percent of physicians have a specialist title in general internal medicine, followed by psychiatry and psychotherapy (10.1 percent) and paediatrics and adolescent medicine (4.9 percent).
Doctors of retirement age
The average age of doctors in Switzerland in 2016 was 49.2 years, with doctors in the outpatient sector (54.6 years) being on average over ten years older than their colleagues in the inpatient sector(43.2 years). This is due in particular to the fact that further training up to the award of the specialist title takes place predominantly in hospitals.
If residents are excluded from the consideration of the average age, the average age of physicians working in the inpatient sector rises to 46.0 years.
Compared to 2008, it appears that primary care providers working in outpatient settings were significantly more likely to be working past retirement age in 2016. This may be due to various reasons: Firstly, succession planning for a practice is likely to remain difficult, but secondly, doctors would also like to work beyond retirement age regardless of succession planning.
Proportion of foreigners continues to rise
In 2016, 11,900 of the working doctors in Switzerland have a foreign medical degree. This corresponds to a share of 32.9 percent of the entire medical profession. In the inpatient sector, the proportion is 38.4 percent. Most working foreign doctors come from the surrounding countries: Germany (53.6 percent), Austria (10.8 percent), Italy (9.6 percent) and France (3.0 percent).
A look at further training shows that 44.2 percent of doctors who obtained a federal specialist title in 2016 have a foreign doctor's diploma.
Further information on the "FMH Physician Statistics 2016" can be found under this Link
