Fachsprachprüfung in Saxony: format, fees, registration

At a glance

How the exam works in Saxony

The exam is an individual exam before a committee of three members, at least two of whom are physicians. At the start the committee introduces itself and asks you to talk briefly about your career so far and your further goals. After that you work through a single patient case in three parts. How the three parts work in general is explained in the three parts in detail; this page covers what Saxony specifically requires.

Part 1: doctor–patient conversation (20 minutes)

A committee member plays the patient. You take the history — current complaints, previous illnesses, medication, family — explain your suspected diagnosis, suggest further tests and treatment, and answer the patient's questions. The chamber asks for language that medical laypeople understand. Notes are allowed, according to the chamber „gegebenenfalls auch in Ihrer Muttersprache“ (where appropriate also in your native language).

Part 2: written documentation (20 minutes)

You document the history and next steps in German and in full sentences on a prepared, structured form. You may use your notes from part 1 and a medical dictionary provided by the chamber; „weitere Hilfsmittel dürfen nicht verwendet werden“ (no other aids may be used). The chamber gives the report two purposes: it should fulfil the duty to keep records and give the doctors who continue treatment clear and complete information. The chamber does not publish a sample of the Saxon form; how such forms are typically laid out is shown in documentation.

Part 3: doctor–doctor conversation (20 minutes)

You hand the patient over to a physician on the committee and discuss suspected and differential diagnoses, diagnostics and therapy. Now the opposite of part 1 is required: the chamber asks for „das deutsche medizinische Vokabular im Sinne der ärztlichen Fachsprache“ (German medical vocabulary in the sense of professional medical language). At the end of the exam you translate a list of 12 medical terms into the corresponding everyday words. How to train for this task is covered under medical terms.

Registration and dates

You apply for the Approbation and the Berufserlaubnis at the Landesdirektion Sachsen. If a Fachsprachprüfung is required, the Landesdirektion sends your details to the chamber; personal registration is not part of the procedure. According to the chamber's information material, it then continues like this:

1. The chamber informs you about the procedure and proposes exam dates; you choose two of them.
2. You transfer the fee to the chamber — the invitation follows only after that.
3. The exam takes place at the earliest four weeks after the payment arrives.
4. If you cannot attend, you must say so at least two weeks before the date. After that, cancelling is only possible for good cause (illness) and with immediate notice.

According to the chamber's website and fee schedule, the fee is €590 (item 5.4, „Fachsprachenprüfung“). Older chamber presentations still state €425 — the current fee schedule is what counts. How Saxony compares is shown in the fee overview.

Besides the chamber's own exam, the Landesdirektion may, according to the Marburger Bund (the doctors' union), accept suitable C1 medical-language exams from other providers after consultation; which ones is not specified. An FSP you passed at another state's chamber during that state's procedure also counts. Clarify alternatives with the Landesdirektion in advance.

Assessment and result

The committee assesses jointly using an „einheitliches, strukturiertes Schema“ (a uniform, structured scheme). The chamber does not publish points or a pass mark. Instead, it states unusually concretely what it looks for in each part:

• Doctor–patient conversation: no empty stock phrases; understanding numbers correctly; speaking clearly and fluently; putting the patient's complaints at the centre (empathy, letting them finish); explaining the next steps.
• Documentation: „Geben Sie exakt das Gesagte wieder, interpretieren Sie nichts.“ (Reproduce exactly what was said, interpret nothing.) Correct surname, first name and date of birth; grammar, spelling, sentence structure and organisation; correct use of medical terms, because mixing them up can lead to wrong treatment; the report must be fit to pass on to other doctors.
• Doctor–doctor conversation: professional language; reporting the complaints correctly; presenting history findings, next steps and suspected and differential diagnoses clearly; discussing the case and answering follow-up questions fluently.

You learn the result directly after the exam. The chamber then reports it to the Landesdirektion, which continues your procedure. In Saxony, passing the FSP is a prerequisite for the Berufserlaubnis; when you receive which licence is decided by the Landesdirektion in your individual case.

Retakes

If you fail, you repeat the whole exam. The number of attempts is not limited, the fee is charged each time, and the chamber states no minimum waiting period. It does not publish a pass rate either. The Deutsches Ärzteblatt gives a point of reference: from January to August 2024 the chamber held more than 500 Fachsprachprüfungen, 332 first attempts and 172 retakes — roughly one exam in three was a retake. Since May 2016 the total was 3,650 exams. What makes sense after a failed attempt is covered under failed the FSP.

Tips for the exam in Saxony

• Prepare your introduction. The committee asks about your career and goals at the start. Three or four confident sentences take the edge off your nerves before the case begins.
• Note numbers and names carefully. „Richtiges Zahlenverständnis“ (understanding numbers correctly) is an explicit criterion, and the report is checked for surname, first name and date of birth. Ask the patient to spell their name and repeat numbers rather than guessing.
• Use your native language in notes with care. It is allowed, but parts 2 and 3 are in German. Write medical terms and drug names in German straight away so you do not translate twice.
• Interpret nothing in the report. „Interpretieren Sie nichts“ means: reproduce what the patient said, ideally in Konjunktiv I (reported speech), and do not add findings nobody mentioned.
• Use the dictionary only for single words. Twenty minutes leave no time to build sentences with a dictionary; look up only the word you are unsure of.
• Drop stock phrases. The chamber names them explicitly. A simple sentence that fits the patient beats a memorised formula.
• Practise the direction of the 12 terms: from medical term to everyday word. The pairs below come from fsppruefung.de's fictional practice cases, not from a real exam list:

Sources

• Sächsische Landesärztekammer: Fachsprachenprüfung
• Sächsische Landesärztekammer: Anerkennungsverfahren für Ärzte in Sachsen (PDF)
• Sächsische Landesärztekammer: Medical Language Exam — Requirements, Structure, Evaluation (PDF)
• Sächsische Landesärztekammer: Anlage Gebührenverzeichnis zur Gebührenordnung (PDF)
• Deutsches Ärzteblatt: Mehr als 500 Fachsprachenprüfungen in Sachsen abgenommen
• Marburger Bund: Deutschkenntnisse