Practise this handover before your German medical exam

The medical language exam for doctors (Fachsprachprüfung, called FSP) has one part with no script to hide behind.

The examiner acts like a colleague on the ward. You hand over a patient out loud, from memory.

Train one fixed 3-sentence handover, and that part stops being scary.

What happens in the doctor-to-doctor part?

The FSP is one 60-minute exam with 3 parts, about 20 minutes each (as of 2026-10).

First you talk to a patient. Then you write a short report. Then you talk to a doctor examiner, who plays a colleague taking over your shift.

In that last part you do not read from your notes. You say what matters about the patient.

Picture a 7am handover on a real ward, the next doctor standing beside you.

The 3-sentence handover that works

Most candidates fail this part because they try to say everything: every lab value, every date, every drug dose.

The examiner loses the thread, and so do you.

1. Sentence 1: the diagnosis. "Mr Keller, 68, admitted with a heart attack."
2. Sentence 2: the one finding that matters right now. "His troponin is still rising and he is short of breath."
3. Sentence 3: the plan. "He needs a cardiology review before this evening."

How do I actually practise this?

Reading about the handover does not train your mouth. You need to say it, out loud, under pressure, several times.

• Pick 5 real cases from your own ward, not textbook cases.
• Say the handover out loud, under 1 minute each.
• Ask a friend to interrupt you once, mid-sentence, the way an examiner might.
• Record yourself on your phone and play it back.
• Cut anything that is not the diagnosis, the one finding, or the plan.

Does the format change by state?

Yes. Each of the 17 state medical chambers (Landesärztekammer) runs the FSP a little differently.

Prices differ too: about €595 in Lower Saxony, about €400 in North Rhine-Westphalia (as of 2026-10).

Check your own chamber's page for the exact format and fee before you book a date.

What to do before you book

1. Write down your 5 real cases tonight, one paragraph each.
2. Record your 3-sentence handover for each case, under 1 minute.
3. Ask a colleague or friend to interrupt you once per case, out loud.
4. Check your state medical chamber's page for the current FSP format and fee.

Stand: 2026-11-08. This is a guide, not legal advice. Every German state has its own rules, and rules change. Check with your state's medical chamber (Landesärztekammer) before you act.