The medical habilitation at German universities: a comparison of the regulations over 23 years

Background Due to the further decrease in the number of habilitations in medicine since 2010, the general requirements for habilitation could have increased during the same period. Objective The requirements for a medical habilitation at German universities in a comparison of 23 years are re-evaluated. Material and methods An analysis of habilitation regulations for 12 target parameters and evaluation of these by a scoring system (range 0-34 points). Results Only the criterion of the requirement for a doctorate has remained the same in the 23-year comparison in the evaluation (1998-2021). All results of the other 11 criteria have changed compared to the previous study from 2010. The rating of habilitation achievements has increased from a total score in 1998 of 15.2 +/- 5.1 points (95% confidence interval 13.6-16.9 points) to 25.1 +/- 3.6 points in 2021 (95% confidence interval 23.9-26.2 points; p < 0.001). The range of assigned scoring values is again more broadly spread in the 11-year comparison with values from 12 to 31 points. A striking new criterion was that 98% of the assessed habilitation regulations now require a didactic continuing education in, however, significantly different requirements from the faculties. Conclusion The requirements for a medical habilitation continued to significantly increase over the 23-year period with, however, a wider dispersion of scores. The more detailed description can be seen as a direct indication of an improvement in transparency. In contrast, the broader dispersion shows that a uniform assessment standard for Germany has again receded into the distance.