[Positions for medical doctors in German hospitals for psychiatry and psychotherapy].

As in other medical specialties, there is currently an imbalance between the number of open positions and the number of applicants in the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy, despite an overall growing number of physicians. To assess the magnitude of this deficit, the German Association for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (DGPPN) conducted a survey among heads of clinics for psychiatry and psychotherapy in Germany. There were several characteristic trends: there is high variability in the lack of applicants depending on the contextual conditions of the specific clinic. It increased significantly from 2008 to 2009, is more pronounced in the east rather than in the west, in smaller rather than in larger clinics, and for assistant doctors rather than for specialists. The lack of applicants is most likely also masked by compensatory measures such as the hiring of psychologists for the position of a physician. It is assumed that in addition to the general lack of physicians there is a specialty-specific component that plays a role: the disproportionate increase in the demand for psychiatric-psychotherapeutic services.