FSP exam Anamnese: common mistakes in the patient interview

What happens in the FSP patient interview?

The Fachsprachprüfung (FSP) is the medical German exam that doctors trained outside the EU take on the way to their German licence (Approbation). It is run by the state medical chambers (Ärztekammern), and each one sets its own details. In most chambers the first part is the Arzt-Patienten-Gespräch (doctor-patient conversation), also called the Anamnesegespräch (history-taking interview). An actor or a member of the exam panel plays a patient, and you run the conversation as you would on a ward or in A&E.

The task has two halves. The Berlin and Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) chambers word it almost identically:

1. Ask: personal details, current complaints, past illnesses, medication history and family history. Lower Saxony and Westfalen-Lippe also name the social history explicitly.
2. Explain: state your suspected diagnoses to the patient, suggest further tests and treatment, and explain what will happen. You must use „leicht zu verstehende Bezeichnungen“ (easy-to-understand words) and avoid medical terms wherever you can.

The exam tests your German, not your medicine. Lower Saxony writes „auf die Richtigkeit der Diagnose kommt es bei der Bewertung nicht an“ (whether the diagnosis is correct does not count in the marking). Berlin: „Es geht nicht um die Überprüfung von Fachwissen“ (this is not a test of medical knowledge). What you say must still make sense. The Nordrhein chamber gives the example of saying a broken upper arm needs the foot put in plaster: a contradiction like that makes the examiners question whether you understood.

How long is the interview, and who plays the patient?

How is the FSP patient interview marked?

The Berlin medical chamber is the only one that publishes its marking sheet for this part, the „Musterbewertungsbogen Simulationsanamnese“. It has eight criteria, each scored 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, 0.5 or 0. The maximum is 20 points, and you pass this part with 12.

Two things stand out. First, grammar has no criterion of its own on this sheet. At least four of the eight criteria (1, 4, 5 and 8) mark how you run the conversation and explain. If you only drill grammar and vocabulary, you prepare for half of what counts here at most. Second, criterion 4 explicitly rewards departing from a script. A memorised routine earns nothing here.

The Saxony chamber lists what matters most to its examiners in this part: avoid empty set phrases, understand numbers correctly, speak clearly and fluently, put the patient and their complaints first, respond to their questions and explain what happens next. And: the patient must be understood correctly, and must understand you.

Which mistakes cost points in the patient interview?

1. Leaving the patient's questions until the end. The Rheinhessen chamber (Mainz) writes: „Beantworten Sie die Patienten-Fragen auch mitten in der Anamnese und schieben Sie die Beantwortung nicht ans Ende“ (answer the patient's questions even in the middle of the history, do not push them to the end). It adds: „Punktabzug bis hin zum Nicht-Bestehen“ (point deductions, up to failing). Saying „Dazu komme ich am Ende“ (I'll come to that at the end) is risky. Give a short, honest answer straight away, then carry on.
2. Working through a fixed question list. Rheinhessen again: „Reagieren Sie flexibel und arbeiten Sie nicht einen starren, auswendig gelernten Fragenkatalog ab“ (react flexibly, do not run a rigid, memorised list of questions). Berlin rewards the opposite with criterion 4. If the patient mentions swollen legs on her own, follow that up instead of finishing your list first.
3. Hearing the case you revised, not the patient in front of you. The Westfalen-Lippe chamber warns about candidates who memorise exam content from internet forums. Believing they already know the „Fall“ (case), they do not listen closely, report wrong facts or get thrown by the smallest change. The exam tests your German at C1 level, not your memory.
4. Medical jargon with the patient. The chambers want everyday German. Nordrhein: „Es wird ein flexibler und gegebenenfalls umschreibender Sprachgebrauch gefordert“ (flexible language that paraphrases where needed). If a medical term slips out, explain it in plain words at once.
5. Mishearing numbers and names. Rheinhessen: „Achten Sie darauf, dass Sie Zahlen und Namen korrekt erfassen, lassen Sie sich Worte, die Sie nicht kennen, buchstabieren“ (get numbers and names right, ask for unknown words to be spelled). A wrong name, date of birth or dose carries into the written report and the doctor-to-doctor talk. Repeat every number aloud: „Also fünfzig Milligramm, einmal morgens?“ (So fifty milligrams, once in the morning?)
6. Trying to ask everything and running out of time to explain. Rheinhessen says a complete history is not required. The second half of the task, explaining your suspicion, tests and treatment, is required explicitly in Berlin, Lower Saxony, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. In Berlin, criteria 6 and 8 depend on it.
7. Nodding when you did not understand. Listening is a criterion of its own (Berlin, criterion 7) and „zentraler Prüfungsbestandteil“ in Baden-Württemberg. Asking again costs nothing; a misunderstanding does. Say: „Habe ich Sie richtig verstanden, dass die Schmerzen nach dem Essen stärker werden?“ (Did I understand correctly that the pain gets worse after eating?)
8. Starting with questions and no greeting. Berlin's criterion 1 is professional, personal contact. Greet the patient, give your name and role, and ask an open question about what brings them in. Saxony also asks you to avoid set phrases: an honest, specific sentence works better than a memorised formula.

How do you say it in everyday German?

How should you split the 20 minutes?

Which German phrases help in difficult moments?

How do you practise the FSP patient interview?

1. Read your chamber's information sheet and check the time, the order and any special rules (table above).
2. Practise out loud with a partner. The person playing the patient gets a role card and reveals one important fact only when you ask about it twice. This trains close listening.
3. Ask your partner to interrupt with questions and practise answering at once.
4. Record yourself and score the recording against Berlin's eight criteria.
5. For every medical term you use often, learn one plain-German explanation.
6. Practise numbers: dates, doses, blood pressure readings, weight. Have them dictated and repeat them aloud.
7. After each interview, write the report as described in our guide FSP exam Germany: how to write the Arztbrief, and practise every part under real time limits in our FSP practice area.

What changes for foreign doctors from November 2026 is explained in Kenntnisprüfung 2026: what changes for foreign doctors. The FSP stays.