Die Jahre 1989/90 als Wagnis für ostdeutsche Allgemeinmediziner:innen

During the transformation process around 1989/90, East German general practitioners (GPs) were confronted with joining the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) healthcare system and setting up their own practice. This was a challenging process.

After more than 30 years, insights of German GPs into represented challenges, influences, and evaluations concerning the sociopolitical system change of 1989/90 are provided.

Transformation experiences during the system change in 1989/90 were collected on the basis of guided interviews with Thuringian GPs. The transcribed material was analyzed using Kuckartz content-structuring content analysis.

Insights are provided in the categories of challenges, coping, and evaluation of the system upheaval in outpatient healthcare. Various challenges during the course of taking on an entrepreneurial role and development of the GP practice are recalled. To overcome these challenges, various support experiences but also the awareness of professional competence and training in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) were mentioned positively. The evaluation of the upheaval process was both positive and negative on different levels.

The professional upheaval experience around 1989/90 is remembered heterogeneously by East German GPs, albeit by all as a crisis-ridden phase. As a specifically East German experience, this facet of the transformation should also be reappraised with regard to coping with future tasks in the healthcare system.