Clinical traineeship - the internship for medical students

The clinical traineeship is a crucial part of studying medicine in Germany. During this compulsory internship, you gain experience in patient care and can put your existing theoretical knowledge into practice. Clerkships must be completed in various healthcare facilities. These include both hospitals and GP practices. This allows you to familiarise yourself with different areas of medicine. In this article, you will find information on the duration and procedure as well as important tips on how to organise your clinical traineeship.

What is a clinical traineeship?

The clinical traineeship is an internship in the medical degree programme and lasts a total of 120 calendar days. It is usually divided into 4 individual clinical traineeships of 30 days each, but in many federal states a different division is also possible.

According to the licensing regulations, medical students must complete a clinical traineeship in various areas of healthcare. The aim is to gain practical experience in patient care.

During a clinical traineeship, medical students work under the guidance of experienced doctors and learn various skills.

After completing the clinical traineeship, the trainee will receive a certificate of their work, which they must submit to the state examination office to register for the state examination.

The clinical traineeship must take place between the first and second stages of the medical examination

According to the licensing regulations, medical students must complete their clinical traineeships during the lecture-free period between the first and second sections of the medical examination (Physikum) and the second section.

Lecture-free periods may also include semesters on leave. A prospective doctor will only be admitted to the final state examination after completing their medical studies if the examination office has all the evidence that the prescribed duration of the mandatory clinical traineeships has been completed.

Areas in which clinical traineeships must be completed

As a medical student, you have to complete clinical placements in various areas of medical care. This is to ensure that you familiarise yourself with many different aspects of medical work during your studies.

The licence to practise medicine stipulates that you must complete one clinical traineeship in a clinic, one in an outpatient healthcare facility that is run by a doctor and one in the area of general practice. The fourth and final clinical traineeship can then take place in an institution of your choice.

Outpatient healthcare facility

As part of their clinical traineeship, medical students must work in an outpatient healthcare facility for at least 30 calendar days. This can be, for example, a doctor's surgery, a polyclinic or a medical care centre.

The purpose of this clinical traineeship is for you to gain practical experience in the relevant field, which would probably not have been possible at the university clinic. During your clinical traineeship, you will work in the outpatient area, as an assistant to the doctor so to speak, you will see every case and learn everything that is important for patient care.

Hospital or other inpatient facility

The internship in a clinic or inpatient facility is another important clinical traineeship that must last at least 30 days. You will be closely involved in day-to-day patient care during your work and learn a lot about diagnosis and treatment methods, and by the end of the clinical traineeship month you will have experienced many a typical situation in a hospital.

Establishment of general practitioner care

During their clinical traineeship, students learn about everyday life in a GP practice. They work closely with the doctor and look after the patients.

In most cases, no formal application is required for such a clinical traineeship. It is usually sufficient if you simply enquire at the practice of your choice whether it is possible to do a clinical traineeship there.

Although there is no deadline for the application, we recommend that you apply for the GP traineeship in good time, as otherwise it may happen that someone else is already doing an internship there and a traineeship is therefore not possible at the time you want.

A medical facility of your choice

You can complete a further 30-day clinical traineeship in a practice or other facility of your choice. It doesn't matter whether this is a specialised clinic, a doctor in private practice or a rehabilitation facility.

However, it is generally required that the clinical traineeship takes place in an area of direct patient care. An introduction to laboratory work or working in pathology is therefore generally not possible as part of this mandatory internship.

What activities do medical students carry out during their clinical traineeship?

During the clinical traineeship month, you will carry out various activities involving working with patients. As you have already passed your Physikum and are therefore at least in the 5th semester, a certain level of specialist knowledge can be assumed, even if you will of course still need intensive support from experienced doctors and will also receive this during the month of the clinical traineeship.

As a clinical trainee, you can take part in examinations and treatments of all kinds and sometimes also assist. If you have completed clinical traineeships totalling at least 120 days before the state examination, you will have gained a lot of experience.

Traineeship abroad

A clinical traineeship abroad is a very special experience for students. Not only can they "get a taste" of a particular speciality, but they can also get to know different healthcare systems and expand their intercultural skills.

It is generally possible to complete the clinical traineeship abroad and have the corresponding certificate recognised in Germany. If necessary, you must submit a certified translation of the certificate written in another language.

Only the GP traineeship must be completed in a German institution or with a doctor working here.