Fachsprachprüfung in Saxony-Anhalt: four-part format and fees

In short

The Ärztekammer Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt medical chamber) calls its Fachsprachprüfung (FSP, medical German exam) the „Deutsch-Sprachtest“; it takes place at the SkillsLab of the University of Halle and costs €500. Unlike almost everywhere else, it has four parts: a patient conversation with an actor, a 40-minute documents part with a patient file, a colleague video, a lab phone call and a vocabulary list, an Epikrise (clinical summary) on a computer, and a doctor–doctor conversation. Saxony-Anhalt therefore also tests reading and listening — and works with findings reports and lab values that do not exist in most other chambers' exams.

At a glance

Item	Saxony-Anhalt
Examining body	Ärztekammer Sachsen-Anhalt; venue: Dorothea Erxleben Lernzentrum (SkillsLab) of the University of Halle
Registration via	employer confirmation, application at the Landesprüfungsamt für Gesundheitsberufe (state licensing office), then registration form by e-mail to the chamber
Fee per attempt	€500 (fee notice after registration)
Duration and parts	10 min advance information; doctor–patient 15 + 5 min, documents 40 min, Epikrise 20 min, doctor–doctor (duration not published)
Written part	Epikrise on a computer, without spell-checker, with a medical dictionary
Terminology task	vocabulary list: translate medical terms into patient language, mark locations on a body diagram
Permitted aids	history form, paper and pen (notes are not marked); medical reference works are provided by the chamber
Result	chamber certificate if you pass
Retakes	possible; register with the same form as „Wiederholungsprüfung“ (retake)

How the exam works in Saxony-Anhalt

The common three-part structure is described in the FSP format. Saxony-Anhalt adds a separate documents part and moves the writing behind it.

1. Doctor–patient conversation (15 + 5 minutes). The patient is played by an actor who gives you scripted information about their state of health. For the history you receive a pre-printed Anamnesebogen (history form); it is only for your notes and is not marked. After 15 minutes of history taking, you explain the planned diagnostics and/or treatment to the patient in at most 5 minutes and answer their questions — as clearly as possible, because the patient is not familiar with medical terms. You receive more detailed information on these measures 10 minutes before the exam starts, specific to the case.

2. Documents (40 minutes). This part combines several tasks:

completing a medical request form in full,
evaluating a file that may contain a medical letter as well as CT, X-ray, ultrasound, endoscopy and lab reports,
watching a film in which a colleague gives information about the patient,
taking a phone call from the laboratory: lab values of another patient, which you later have to reproduce correctly with name and date of birth,
finally, translating a vocabulary list of medical terms so that a patient understands them, and marking locations such as „unterhalb des rechten Kniegelenks“ (below the right knee joint) on a diagram.

3. Epikrise (20 minutes). On a computer you summarise the current complaints, the examinations carried out and their findings. Full sentences, subordinate clauses and appropriate linking devices are required; grammar, spelling and expression are assessed. There is no spell-checker; you may use the medical dictionary provided.

4. Doctor–doctor conversation. You present the patient to the two physician examiners and may use medical terminology. You are expected to summarise the current findings and the medical letter from the file, the information from the film and the lab phone call. The examiners then ask questions. The chamber gives no duration for this part.

The key difference from other chambers: in the usual format there are no findings, because no examination takes place — only what the patient says is documented (see Documentation in the FSP). In Saxony-Anhalt, by contrast, you work with findings reports and lab values, and your Epikrise has to include them. That is closer to everyday clinical work, but it demands fast reading and reliable listening under time pressure.

Registration and exam date

Employer confirmation: a future employer confirms that you are to work as a doctor there; the workplace must be in Saxony-Anhalt.
Application to the licensing authority: submit this confirmation and your application for an Approbation (full licence) or Berufserlaubnis (temporary licence) to the Landesprüfungsamt für Gesundheitsberufe Sachsen-Anhalt.
Registration with the chamber: fill in the form „Anmeldung zum Deutsch-Sprachtest“ on a computer and send it by e-mail to [email protected], together with a copy of the licensing authority's acknowledgement of receipt, a language certificate at B2 or higher (certified copy, not older than five years) and a copy of your passport.
Fee and invitation: you receive an acknowledgement and a fee notice for €500; once payment has arrived, the invitation with your exam date follows.

On the form you state whether you can take part „ab sofort“ (immediately) or need a date „12 Wochen ab Antragstellung zur Visumbeantragung“ (12 weeks after applying, for a visa application). Processing can take up to four weeks; according to the chamber, phone enquiries about dates are not necessary. At €500, Saxony-Anhalt is in the middle range of the chambers — see the comparison in FSP fees.

Marking and result

The chamber publishes no marking sheet or pass mark. Only individual criteria are named: notes do not count, the Epikrise is judged on grammar, spelling and expression, and the patient conversation on how understandable it is for a layperson. If you pass, you receive a certificate from the medical chamber.

Asked by the press, the chamber has given figures: from 2019 to 2022, 1,110 exams were taken, „gut zwei Drittel“ (a good two thirds) of them passed. In 2024, according to the chamber, 289 exams were passed and 141 failed — roughly one exam in three. The reasons, says the chamber, vary: some candidates speak well but fail at reading or writing, for others it is the other way round.

Retakes

Retakes are possible; you register with the same form and tick „Wiederholungsprüfung“. The chamber publishes no minimum waiting period and no different fee for a retake. How to prepare a second attempt is covered in Failed the FSP.

Tips for the exam in Saxony-Anhalt

Use the 10 minutes of advance information for your explanation. You know in advance which diagnostics or treatment you will have to explain. Prepare two or three sentences without technical terms for each measure — the 5 minutes of explaining leave no time to think.
Treat the 15 minutes of history taking as a hard limit. After that the explanation begins, not an extension. Ask the most important questions first.
Sort your notes by source. In the doctor–doctor conversation you are expected to summarise the file, the film and the lab call separately. If you set up three columns during the documents part, you will find the information faster later.
Practise locations. „Unterhalb des rechten Kniegelenks“, „seitlich am linken Oberarm“ (on the outer side of the left upper arm): terms of position and direction are part of what is tested here.
Practise the Epikrise without autocorrect. Write practice letters in a program without a spell-checker and pay attention to linking words such as „daraufhin“, „im Verlauf“, „aufgrund dessen“ (thereupon, in the further course, because of this). How a medical letter is structured is shown in Writing the Arztbrief.

Handle the lab call like a telephone handover. Ask for the name to be spelt, note the date of birth, values and units, and read everything back. Abbreviations and units are trained in Lab values and abbreviations.

Example — fictional call (units and reference ranges depend on the laboratory):

Labor: Zentrallabor, guten Tag. Ich habe Werte für Herrn Okonkwo, geboren am 3. Mai 1961: CRP 87 Milligramm pro Liter.

Ärztin: Können Sie mir den Namen bitte buchstabieren?

Labor: O-K-O-N-K-W-O.

Ärztin: Ich wiederhole: Herr Okonkwo, geboren am 3. Mai 1961, CRP 87 Milligramm pro Liter. Ist das richtig?

The laboratory gives a CRP value for Mr Okonkwo, born 3 May 1961; the doctor asks for the name to be spelt and then repeats name, date of birth, value and unit for confirmation.

Sources

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