Neuruppin, 3 July 2025
The Brandenburg Medical School (MHB) and the university hospital Ruppin-Brandenburg were the most recent stations for Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on his tour through German regions on Thursday, 3 July 2025. MHB president Prof. Hans-Uwe Simon and Chancellor Dr. Gerrit Fleige welcomed him and offered insights into ongoing teaching activities.
The MHB is not unknown to the President: he represented the local constituency including Brandenburg/Havel with its hospital in the Berlin parliament at the time when the MHB was founded, and closely followed developments against the background of an increasing shortage of physicians. He said he remembered the birth pangs of the institution very well.
Dialogue with students: practice orientation and commitment to the region
He was most interested in talking to students and learning about their personal assessment. After a number of short encounters, he met several medical students for discussion in the library: Madeleine Hanley, Gabriel Walter and David Lenz (chair, student association). He enquired about options to become proactively involved in university development and the probability that graduates actually remain in Brandenburg to start their medical career – even those without a grant from one of the regional hospitals.
According to David Lenz, that is highly likely: “You would not easily give up all the options, friendships and contacts built up over six years of medical studies. And an increasing number of young people are learning to appreciate the advantages of living in a small town.”
Emergency Day: Federal President rehearsing a medical emergency
Subsequently, the format “Emergency Day” served to demonstrate part of practical training at the MHB. This is a specific setting where medical students – supervised by experienced physicians – simulate highly complex and authentic emergency responses in situations where every second counts. The experts give valuable feedback immediately after the exercise.
During the visit in the SimLab the Federal President was not just a spectator. For an emergency simulation – a patient suffering from respiratory problems needs to be reanimated – the Head of State was instructed by 10th-semester student Patrick Vetterling how to properly intubate “Apollo”, a dummy which serves to realistically simulate a large number of vital functions and malfunctions.
Specific MHB features: No numerus clausus for admission, focus on personality development
MHB president Prof. Hans-Uwe Simon thanked Federal President Steinmeier for his interest in the MHB and its education formats, and for his personal and open comments.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier noted that many students clearly stated admission criteria – no numerus clausus – as one key reason to opt for the MHB. Prof. Simon underlined that top school-leaving grades were not necessarily what makes a good physician; he spoke of empathy, communicative competences and collaborative skills: “Personality development is an integral part of the MHB concept.”
Chancellor Dr. Fleige added that the MHB enquires from applicants whether they can imagine a future as a country doctor. Dr. Holger Stege, medical director at the university hospital Ruppin-Brandenburg (ukrb), confirmed that the regional hospitals welcome MHB graduates with open arms: “Complete your exams, and you can start working with us the very next day.”
The MHB fights the shortage of physicians not only by training medical students. It also offers courses to physicians who graduated outside Germany in preparation for assessment tests with state medical chambers. Between 40 and 50 physicians per year take advantage of this service.
Praise for the MHB concept
During the concluding roundtable, the Federal President recalled the reservations that had to be overcome in order to found the MHB, and declared himself pleased with today’s visit. He was glad to see that a good part of students graduating from the MHB commit themselves to staying in the region and find that, apart from the excellent training, there are further good reasons to stay and contribute to healthcare provision in Brandenburg.
