Fachsprachprüfung in Brandenburg: Arztbrief, format, fees

In short

In Brandenburg the Landesärztekammer Brandenburg (LÄKB, the Brandenburg state medical chamber) in Potsdam runs the Fachsprachprüfung; there it is called the „Fachsprachtest“. Its structure departs from the common standard: 20 minutes of doctor–patient conversation, then 30 minutes for a complete Arztbrief (doctor's letter) on a chamber laptop, then the conversation with physician colleagues. You pass only if you pass every one of the three parts — otherwise you repeat everything. You pay the €487 fee up front when you register, and it is forfeited even if you do not turn up.

At a glance

Item	Brandenburg
Examining body	Landesärztekammer Brandenburg, Potsdam; the licensing authority is the Landesamt für Arbeitsschutz, Verbraucherschutz und Gesundheit (LAVG)
Registration via	in person with the chamber using its form — after applying for the Approbation at the LAVG and submitting a B2 certificate there
Fee per attempt	€487, paid in advance; no refund if you do not attend
Duration and parts	20 min doctor–patient conversation, 30 min Arztbrief, professional discussion (chamber: 20 min; LAVG: 10–15 min); one randomly chosen case, all on one day
Part 2 (documentation)	Arztbrief on a chamber laptop, in complete sentences
Medical-terms task	no separate task described; medical terminology is mandatory in the professional discussion
Permitted aids	notes from part 1, also in your native language; phones and other devices are handed in beforehand
Result	given orally at the end; in writing from the LAVG; no grade
Pass rule	each of the three parts must be passed
Retakes	unlimited, always all three parts; the committee recommends the earliest date

How the exam works in Brandenburg

The Fachsprachtest is an individual exam; all three parts take place on one day and are based on one randomly chosen case. According to the chamber, two examiners assess you and all committee members are physicians (the LAVG's guidance requires at least two examiners, at least one of them a physician). The exam is not public, but the LAVG may send observers. How the three parts work in general is explained in the three parts in detail.

Part 1: doctor–patient conversation (20 minutes)

One of the examiners plays the patient. You take a problem-oriented history and may take notes, „auch in der Muttersprache“ (also in your native language). Then you give a suspected diagnosis and explain it together with the planned diagnostics and therapy, including possible alternatives. The LAVG's guidance is more detailed here than most chamber pages: the patient must be told about „alle Maßnahmen einschließlich evtl. zu erwartender Komplikationen“ (all measures including possible complications), and their questions must be answered — in understandable German, because the patient does not know medical terms.

Part 2: Arztbrief on a laptop (30 minutes)

Brandenburg allows 30 instead of the usual 20 minutes for the written part — and in return asks for a proper Arztbrief, typed on a chamber laptop. According to the LAVG you set out „Anamnese, Diagnostik und Therapie sowie der Behandlungsverlauf“ (history, diagnostics and therapy, and the course of treatment) in complete sentences. The LAVG lists these components:

addressee,
patient details including the length of stay in the institution,
diagnoses, procedures, operations,
Epikrise (summary of the clinical course),
therapy or therapy recommendations.

The chamber provides two sample letters, one internal-medicine case (heart failure) and one surgical case (rotator cuff tear). They follow the classic discharge letter: the opening „wir berichten Ihnen über …“ (we are writing to you about …), diagnoses, history with the patient's statements in Konjunktiv I, examination findings, Epikrise, discharge medication and signature lines — the last one for the „Prüfling“ (candidate). So the samples also contain findings and a clinical course; neither the chamber nor the LAVG describes where such information comes from in the exam. Do not write anything that did not come up in the case. General guidance on structure is in the Arztbrief.

Example — fictional case (opening of a letter for fsppruefung.de's practice case "fall from a bicycle onto the outstretched hand"):

Sehr geehrte Frau Kollegin, sehr geehrter Herr Kollege,

wir berichten über Frau Ingrid Schierholz, geb. am XX.XX.19XX, die sich vom XX.XX. bis zum XX.XX.20XX in unserer stationären Behandlung befand.

Diagnosen: V. a. dislozierte distale Radiusfraktur links nach Fahrradsturz; Vorhofflimmern unter oraler Antikoagulation mit Phenprocoumon; Hypothyreose.

Anamnese: Die 68-jährige Patientin stellte sich nach einem Sturz mit dem Fahrrad auf die ausgestreckte linke Hand in unserer Notaufnahme vor. Sie gab an, seitdem starke, bewegungsabhängige Schmerzen im linken Handgelenk zu haben; zudem kribble es in Daumen und Zeigefinger. Einen Kopfanprall oder eine Bewusstlosigkeit verneinte sie. …

In English: a letter to the colleague about a 68-year-old patient with a suspected displaced distal radius fracture after a bicycle fall, atrial fibrillation on anticoagulation and hypothyroidism; the history reports wrist pain on movement and tingling in thumb and index finger, and no head injury or loss of consciousness. The patient's statements are in Konjunktiv I („es kribble“), and the diagnoses are worded as diagnoses, not as symptoms.

Part 3: professional discussion with colleagues

You give the physician examiners a summary of the patient and the condition, state a suspected diagnosis and set out the planned diagnostics and treatment; the examiners ask additional questions. Medical terminology is required here. On the duration the official sources disagree: the chamber states 20 minutes (70 in total), the LAVG's guidance „10 bis 15 Minuten“. Plan for 20.

Registration and dates

You apply for the Approbation (and, if relevant, a Berufserlaubnis, the temporary licence) at the LAVG.
You submit a B2 certificate to the LAVG: from the Goethe-Institut, telc, TestDaF, ÖSD or another ALTE-certified institute, with every part at least „ausreichend“ (sufficient), and no older than three years when you apply.
You register in person with the chamber — with the signed form from the chamber's website, a copy of your ID and proof of payment.
The invitation arrives at the latest five calendar days before the date.

You transfer the €487 when you register, with your full name and „Fachsprachtest“ as the payment reference. The chamber explicitly does not send payment requests — so an email pushing you to pay is not part of the normal procedure; take the bank details only from the chamber's own page. According to the LAVG the costs are due even if you do not take part, „unabhängig von den Gründen“ (regardless of the reasons). If you cannot attend for good cause, tell the chamber and the LAVG immediately. Bring a valid ID (identity card, passport or residence permit) and a ballpoint or fountain pen. The fee comparison with other chambers is in the fee overview.

The chamber and the LAVG „dringend“ (strongly) recommend taking an online „Pretest“ before registering. It simulates history taking, Arztbrief and doctor–doctor conversation with AI-based patients and examiners; under certain conditions, for example with a Bildungsgutschein (training voucher), it is free. The chamber links to it from its page on the language tests.

According to the Marburger Bund (the doctors' union), the LAVG may also accept suitable C1 exams from other providers after consultation; there is no list.

Assessment and result

Only language and communication are assessed; medical knowledge is not tested. There is no grade: the examiners decide whether you meet the requirements at C1, and each part must be passed. One point in the LAVG's guidance is nonetheless about content: „klare Diagnosestellungen“ (clear diagnoses) including differential-diagnostic considerations are expected, and pure symptoms should not be given as diagnoses.

The committee announces the result orally at the end; written confirmation comes from the LAVG. The chamber gives a failure rate only by comparison: across the states it averaged around 40 per cent in recent years, and the LÄKB's own rate is „deutlich höher“ (considerably higher). From 2015 to September 2023 the chamber, by its own account, held more than 2,100 language and knowledge exams.

Retakes

If you fail one part, you repeat the whole Fachsprachtest with all three parts, as often as needed. The committee recommends the earliest possible retake date and whether further steps such as a language course make sense. You register for the retake through the chamber again, and the fee is due again. More on what to do after a failed attempt under failed the FSP.

Tips for the exam in Brandenburg

Train with the sample letters. Type out both samples once, then write your own letters on the same framework — in 30 minutes, keeping five minutes for proofreading.
Organise your notes like the letter. If your note sheet is already divided into diagnoses, history, previous illnesses, medication and social history, you will write the letter much faster.
Diagnoses, not symptoms. „V. a. distale Radiusfraktur links“ (suspected distal radius fracture, left) instead of „Schmerzen im Handgelenk“ (wrist pain) — the LAVG asks for this explicitly.
Think of complications in part 1. Explain planned measures, including possible complications, in everyday language, as in an informed-consent talk.
Be ready first, then register. The invitation can come only five days before the date, and the fee is lost even if you stay away.

Sources

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