I have gone another step back, and still it is a step forward. My first step back being from a self-employed position into an employment, I am now starting as a registrar, that is a trainee. I have entered a GP (Allgemeinarzt) training programme that seems so much more practice orientated, intensive and individual than what I got in Germany 16 years ago. We are a group of 20 students who come together every Wednesday, and on the other days we are working in practices where we are to see a limited number of 13 patients (normally ~ 20) per day and are assigned to a personal GP teacher who has to spend a minimum time with us (90 min each week) - opposed to a lecture-based training with 200 others in Germany and a teacher who says: "here is your room, if you have any questions, ask me". The other good news that it is paid - less of course than what I got until now but we will manage to bridge that one year of less pay. After that I can go back into a normally paid employment and another two years later I can apply for a title that is accepted in some other countries as well (Canada, Australia, South Africa, Singapore and others) - among other local advantages.
My new practice is great and so is my teacher (who is about my age). Most of the clients are Pakeha, many are farmers. It is a 20 min drive through fertile flatland inland.
The weekly training sessions are held in Cambridge, about 90-100 min drive from Thames, also through flat land (Hauraki Plains) alongside a mountain ridge.
It is no problem to interrupt the training after the first year, when we will probably come back to Europe for at least some months. Even if we stayed in Europe it will have given me a lot of learning, expertise, additional skills. I have a mix of different reasons to go that step, and it would lead too far here to explain them - those who know me might ask me if they wish.
