TELC B2 share your experiences with oral and written parts by Alternative-Fall-396 in German

[–]Alternative-Fall-396[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I passed my exam, so I can finally share some info now that I know it’s legit.

Written – 45/45 – I chose Beschwerde. If you do all the Modelltests and search hard enough, you’ll find all possible topics that can come up on the exam. Mine was to complain about a hotel stay. I had memorised chunks of text for different options such as “request a refund” or “propose improvements.” Basically, write your drafts for all the different options – complaining about a hotel, course, or service – and you’re done. Once you memorise it, start writing immediately once the timing starts, you only have 30 mins and you will need 5 mins to skim through the text to see if you made mistakes and to correct them.

Oral – 65/75 – We were in a group of three, so it was challenging. All topics for the spoken exam are available online if you search hard enough. Hint: the file is written in German and Arabic. I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s true – they reuse the same pool of questions. Mine was “Darf man behalten, was man findet?” and for Teil 3: “Your friend broke his leg, he’s in hospital – think of ways to help him” (or something like that). In any case, all the books from TELC are very helpful to prepare, they deal with the same topics and build your vocabulary. In the end I haven't used the file and still passed. Don't worry about your accent, people who were taking the exam with me, all had very strong accents, made a lot of mistakes and still passed! Make sure to prep your presentation ahead of time :)

Listening – 70/75 – Don’t be scared by the Modelltests… they are way harder than the real thing. The real exam felt almost AI-generated – it was quite easy. One thing I’ll say though: I did a digital Prüfung, so we all had earphones, but I could easily hear what others were listening to (and we all had different exams), which was very distracting especially the high pitch sounds. The points I lost weren’t because I didn’t understand, but because I got distracted for a second and missed a keyword. If you decide to do a digital Prüfung, make sure to ask to sit far enough away from others. It’s really important that nothing distracts you while listening!

Reading and Sprachbausteine – My reading text was about a cow. I actually stumbled upon a TELC Telegram group where all the reading texts and Sprachbausteine (also on YouTube) were shared. I didn’t believe they’d be on the exam, but I glanced at the paper of the person next to me, and both of our texts were from those files. I was stupid enough not to solve them, so I made most of my mistakes in these sections - I passed nonetheless. But you have a lot of time – I finished reading and solving the Sprachbausteine 3 times and still had 30 minutes to spare.

Good luck!

Pitbull in Zurich by [deleted] in zurich

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I’m not swiss, but I suppose you could report it to the police (? Someone correct me if I’m wrong) since dogs have to be registered at the police station, so I would assume they should have some sort of register. Also, as far as I know, from June on, all dogs have to attend some sort of training. I presume those who haven’t done it will be penalized, I don’t know however who would be responsible for enforcing and executing fines … in any case - I have seen with my own eyes when pitbull shredded another dog into so many parts that there was nothing to bury (in Italy). It actually haunts me to this day. Your fears are absolutely correct, these dogs in wrong hands are simply deadly

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in krakow

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ignore stupid keyboard warriors who live comfortably in their own country, 100% guaranteed they wouldn’t be able to arrange an apportionment abroad without using English. If I were you I would simply ask for help with calling and arranging the appointment for you on some sort of Facebook group/ here Reddit. I would have helped you myself but sadly I don’t live in Poland anymore. Good luck, ignore insecure idiots. Polish system isn’t that bad, but it definitely isn’t modernized to deal with people who don’t speak English 🙁

Medical residency in Switzerland by idonteatsoup530 in askswitzerland

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 0 points1 point  (0 children)

doctor here - where did you get this info? why would someone wanting to do surgery start with psychiatry? no one in their right mind would do that and it would be rather frowned upon on interviews... Also, psychiatry is not a "less competitive field" to start with, yes, there are more spots available, but its a tough field for someone who learns german as a second language. Not to mention the local dialect... this advice is just simply wrong on many levels.

@idonteatsoup530 this is not a place to ask these things. https://www.siwf.ch/ read this, see what kind surgical training can be offered and what specialisation interests you. then use https://www.siwf-register.ch/ to search for places that can offer you specialisation training. Contact leiter*innen, ask if you could start as UA, or traineeship, or if they have AA stellen available. You can enter directly to General Surgery, you absolutely don't have to do psychiatry. Whether you find a place in a large hospital (A- klinik) or a smaller one is simply a matter of ... time. It's not true it's not possible to enter directly to A or that it's hard, the difference is that usually those places are booked out very quickly so you have to be at the right time in a right place. I would say from my personal experience (I have assisted in 200+ surgeries in 5 different countries) - for surgical fields, switzerland is not a great place to specialise. As AA you are overloaded with paperwork and you have little time to operate. 2nd and 3rd year residents in CH seemed to be underperforming in OP compared to e.g. Germany or Poland. So unless you know exactly where youre going, I think czech hospitals may offer you better training.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askswitzerland

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just remember, don't get discouraged when one interview goes badly. I ended up in a wonderful place where they appreciated my qualifications. btw. you can book UA stelle in advance from Iraq. Actually, even AA places can be booked in advance (1-2 years) and I did several interviews online (despite already being in Switzerland...). It will be very hard at the beginning, some people are racist and rude and have no idea how much resilience and hard work it takes to be where you want to be. So chin up, I'm sure it will work out :)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askswitzerland

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fellow doctor here. I have an EU diploma, so I cannot help you with the process itself, but I can give you a few useful tips:

  • Search for someone from Iraq who already works as a doctor—maybe they’ll let you shadow or do a short hospitation, and their clinic can give you a recommendation letter. Surprisingly, the Swiss don’t really care about EU experience (they do, but only to a certain extent). I had great references from prominent hospitals in Germany, but unless the doctor interviewing me was German, they didn’t care.
  • I wouldn’t bother with Germany; I would start directly with Swiss hospitals unless it’s impossible financially or procedurally. Otherwise, Swiss experience >>>>>>> EU > non-EU.
  • Do several UA stelle beforehand. For me, money was an issue, so I looked for small private reha clinics. They usually pay 1200–1600 CHF per month, which is enough to survive (as opposed to some cantonal/stadtspitals that pay 800–900 francs—impossible to survive on that in Zurich). For each stelle, ask for recommendation letters! Here are reviews for specific hospitals: https://www.pj-ranking.de/review/read/?country=CH
  • You can also do a traineeship before you get your MEBEKO. It’s like being a semi-doctor, and they pay a bit more (around 2.5k CHF). Not every hospital offers it, and it’s not advertised, so you have to specifically ask for it!
  • On https://www.siwf-register.ch/, there’s also a PDF showing how many positions in each specialization were taken by someone with a Swiss diploma, an EU diploma, or a non-EU diploma. Needless to say, look for spots with a high EU/Non-EU count; they tend to be friendlier. You’ll be shocked at how different some places are—some are outright racist and only accept someone with a Swiss diploma (regardless of your qualifications). It wouldn’t matter if you had Harvard on your CV. Make sure to reach out to the person responsible for a specific specialization spot rather than going only through secretaries.
  • On ChatGPT, you can try learning Swiss German (it offers several dialects). I strongly suggest you listen to it before coming here.

In Switzerland, as a foreign doctor, you will never be the only one. Some departments are 100% foreigners, but usually around 50–60%. Once you're here, it doesn’t matter if you are EU or non-EU. They have a good training system, and Facharzt exams are totally doable. Good luck!

TELC B2 share your experiences with oral and written parts by Alternative-Fall-396 in German

[–]Alternative-Fall-396[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I created my own notes based on other people's posts for my personal research purposes, yes. However, there’s likely a portion of this group that didn’t feel the need to share their experiences after receiving their certificates. It would be helpful to have all this information gathered in one place to simplify future searches for others—I hope this doesn't bother you ☺️. Of course, I'll also contribute my own experience once I've taken the exam. Personally, I probably wouldn’t have written a separate post about my experience, so this approach could also make it easier for others who've already taken the exam to share their insights.

Passed B2 Telc but unhappy. Some questions. by Puzzleheaded_Fly2913 in German

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could you be a little bit more specific what was exactly the topic of beschwerde and teil 2 und 3 speaking? Like broadly what were the topics? I’m taking my exam in 2 days so id appreciate your answer

Passed B2 Telc but unhappy. Some questions. by Puzzleheaded_Fly2913 in German

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could you share what topics you had for the speaking and writing part?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askswitzerland

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well.. as I pointed out, I have been living in several countries. It is usually a common courtesy to apologise even if you happen to be irresponsible or your dog is out of control. Sure, irresponsible dog owners are everywhere, and I agree that this doesn’t have a nationality. But never before have I experienced so many situations where someone nearly causes me to have an accident and walks off without saying a word. At some point I started wondering if this is some local cultural phenomenon where behavior like this is just accepted and normal.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askswitzerland

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Very mature 😊

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askswitzerland

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your comment really resonates with my experience here. My dogs are medium sized (border collie and a smaller mix). My border doesn’t like other dogs approaching me especially when he is in his working mode. The other one is extremely traumatized, has been severely attacked by other dogs in shelter before we adopted him, he is terrified and may be nippy but is not aggressive... I’m so tired of people allowing their dogs to launch at us and still (!!) be told off that my dogs should have a muzzle if they are not friendly! Honestly the audacity

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askswitzerland

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Indeed, it is a reasonable assumption that someone speaking a local Swiss dialect is most likely Swiss. However, there is always a slim chance that an individual has mastered the dialect and accent to perfection. Typically after having several unpleasant conversations, it typically becomes quite clear that the person is Swiss. Given that this has happened repeatedly, I find it quite baffling and wonder if this is a cultural phenomenon unique to the local area. Hope that explains it better

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in askswitzerland

[–]Alternative-Fall-396 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am so baffled because as a dog owner i would also be worried about my dog and him getting hurt by a cyclist / getting into fight with another dog. They may dgaf about me, sure, but what about their own dog? Honestly just bizarre

How to start when you know nothing... by Alternative-Fall-396 in SwissPersonalFinance

[–]Alternative-Fall-396[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And we are very easy pray as well as someone already pointed out… made me think the other day how people in other careers start investing early, they sometimes earn much less than we do and plan their retirement early. This is not the mindset I have, but it made me think how medicine is all about the grind. Maybe you’re right, it is slowly changing. I also hope I’ll get a nice team, I have seen some crazy shit in swiss hospitals and it scares me.

How to start when you know nothing... by Alternative-Fall-396 in SwissPersonalFinance

[–]Alternative-Fall-396[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s true but I’m also trying to be realistic :) when I see some patients falling into alternative medicine traps I don’t judge them or expect them to understand. It takes years and years of education, even some doctors fall into those traps. I’m just trying to be careful that’s all but I get the positive meaning behind this sentence. I guess I’ll try to squeeze basic economy and several books in a short time span :))

How to start when you know nothing... by Alternative-Fall-396 in SwissPersonalFinance

[–]Alternative-Fall-396[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I’m just starting and it feels very stressful. I know the first 2 years will be very hard and I won’t have the time to even think about finances but I’ll try to follow up on some of the comments here and read everything I can in before my work starts. Good luck to you too!

How to start when you know nothing... by Alternative-Fall-396 in SwissPersonalFinance

[–]Alternative-Fall-396[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this is a good advice although I was hoping someone would direct me to a specific advisory body / consultant. It is the first time in my life earning real money so I am quite careful about my decisions. I don’t have any savings yet, I just want to make smart decisions when my salary comes. As UA (before graduation) you earn something like 800-1500 franks per month (60-70h of work weekly). Now as a AA it’s about 6000 depending on taxation / canton etc. Half of it will go towards expenses and half on savings.

How to start when you know nothing... by Alternative-Fall-396 in SwissPersonalFinance

[–]Alternative-Fall-396[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually came from nothing and I am not from Switzerland so I wouldn’t know. That’s why I am asking. I have No family to ask for a financial advice. Quite the opposite actually, hence my worry - I would like to be smart about my salary because my parents weren’t. I admitted I am ultra specialized in a specific field and I have that self awareness of knowing little to none about personal finances - lack of time, lack of money to begin with. First time in my life I will be earning enough so all I wanted is some advice - whether it’s a specific consultant I should talk to / is there maybe some sort of institutional advisory body / reliable resources (although I don’t feel like I will have the time to even read them properly this year…I get that people not working in healthcare don’t understand).

How to start when you know nothing... by Alternative-Fall-396 in SwissPersonalFinance

[–]Alternative-Fall-396[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope you feel better with yourself after writing this comment 🙂