Medical German (FSP)

1. Import into Anki

Getting your deck into Anki takes about a minute. Your download link is in the receipt email from Lemon Squeezy, the payment service we use. It usually arrives within a few minutes.

Deck files are large, 130 MB or more depending on the deck, so use Wi-Fi when you download on a phone or tablet.

Another way: import the deck on a computer first, then sync it to your phone with a free AnkiWeb account. Your phone still needs the Anki app: AnkiDroid on Android or AnkiMobile on iPhone and iPad. The first sync can take a while because of the audio, so wait for it to finish.

Medical German FSP by Eidetic appears in your deck list with four sub-decks: Anamnese (Patient History), Arztbrief (Medical Report), Arzt-Arzt-Gespräch and Fachsprache-Laiensprache Pairs. Audio and tags come in the same file.

2. Recommended settings

Anki's defaults work, but these adjustments will give you better results with this deck:

• New cards per day: 5-10. These are terms you will need to say out loud, so give each one time to settle.
• Maximum reviews per day: 200. The default of 200 is fine. If your daily reviews regularly exceed 150, reduce new cards for a few days.
• Learning steps: 1m 10m. Anki's default. Leave it.

To change these: click the gear icon next to the deck name, then "Options."

3. How the card types work

The pair Hypertonie and Bluthochdruck is a good example. A Recognition card asks what the German means. A Production card asks you for the German from the English. A Cloze card puts the term in a sentence and blanks it out. For 370 entries there is also a fourth card, Fach↔Laien, which asks you to go from the technical word to the patient's word.

The deck holds 1,041 entries, which become 3,493 cards: three for every entry and the 370 pair cards. Each entry has a Fachsprache field and a Laiensprache field, an Arabic field for the optional Arabic toggle, and example sentences for the patient conversation and for the Arztbrief. About 45% of entries carry an exam tip.

The audio is attached to the technical wording, the everyday wording, the patient example and the letter example. It is one voice, not a male and a female pair.

Feeling overwhelmed? Suspend the Production cards for the first week. Focus on Recognition and Cloze. Add Production back once your daily reviews feel manageable. To suspend: select cards in the browser, right-click, "Toggle Suspend."

4. Where to start

The FSP has three parts of 20 minutes each: Anamnese (patient history), Arztbrief (medical letter) and Arzt-Arzt-Gespräch (doctor to doctor). Each state arranges its own procedure, so check the details with the chamber that will examine you. The deck's sub-decks follow the same three parts and add a fourth for the register pairs.

• Anamnese (Patient History): about 1,080 cards. The history interview, from the opening to the closing questions. It is the most interactive part of the exam, and our vocabulary guide suggests you start here.
• Arztbrief (Medical Report): about 700 cards. The vocabulary and sentences of the medical letter. Every entry has an Arztbrief example sentence.
• Arzt-Arzt-Gespräch: about 555 cards. The doctor-to-doctor handover: how you present a case to a colleague.
• Fachsprache-Laiensprache Pairs: about 1,150 cards. The technical word and the patient's word, side by side, across body systems from cardiology to the specialty terms.

One FSP entry, field by field

The Hypertonie entry shows every field that sets this deck apart.

• Fachsprache and Laiensprache. Hypertonie and Bluthochdruck.
• English and Arabic. 'High blood pressure / hypertension', and the Arabic ارتفاع ضغط الدم for the toggle.
• Patient example. 'Haben Sie Bluthochdruck?' means 'Do you have high blood pressure?'
• Arztbrief example. 'Anamnestisch besteht eine arterielle Hypertonie Grad II.' means 'The medical history reveals grade II arterial hypertension.'
• Exam tip. One of the most commonly tested Fach-Laien pairs. In Part 1 use Bluthochdruck. In Parts 2 and 3 use Hypertonie or arterielle Hypertonie.

Two more FSP entries

Two entries whose exam tips are about which word to use when.

• Anamnese and Befragung. 'Patient history interview.' The tip says that in the patient conversation you say Befragung, never Anamnese, and that in the Arztbrief you always write Anamnese.
• Myokardinfarkt and Herzinfarkt. 'Heart attack / myocardial infarction.' The tip says use Herzinfarkt in Part 1 and Myokardinfarkt in Parts 2 and 3. Both words are widely known, but the FSP specifically tests your ability to switch registers.

Tips written on the cards

The exam tips are short rules about register and form. Two more examples:

• Start formally. Always start with 'Guten Tag'. Never 'Hallo' or 'Hi'. Examiners mark formality from the very first word.
• Say your role in the right gender. Female candidates must say 'Ich bin Ihre behandelnde Ärztin.' Forgetting the feminine form is a common mistake that examiners notice.

Fachsprache and Laiensprache

The exam asks you to use two registers and to switch between them. This is what the pairs sub-deck drills.

• Fachsprache. The technical register, for colleagues, medical letters and case presentations.
• Laiensprache. The patient-friendly register, for the Anamnese and for explaining a diagnosis.
• Pairs to know. Hypertonie and Bluthochdruck. Diabetes mellitus and Zuckerkrankheit. Appendizitis and Blinddarmentzündung.
• The trap. It is not knowing both words. It is using the wrong one at the wrong time. 'Hypertonie' with a patient can confuse them, and 'Bluthochdruck' in an Arztbrief is the wrong register.

What the cards cannot do

The FSP checks language, not medicine, and it is partly oral. Cards give you the words. These habits give you the fluency to use them.

• Say the Anamnese aloud. Set a 20-minute timer and run the whole interview out loud, playing both roles if you must.
• Write Arztbriefe. The letter has a fixed structure. Write one after each practice interview.
• Use the German abbreviations. EKG, not ECG. HWI, not UTI.
• Run a full mock exam. Do all three parts back to back, 60 minutes in total, before the real day.

Phrases that appear in each part

Taken from our FSP guide. They show the register each part expects.

• Opening the Anamnese. 'Bitte nehmen Sie Platz.' and 'Ich möchte Ihnen einige Fragen zu Ihren Beschwerden stellen.'
• Asking about pain. 'Auf einer Skala von 1 bis 10, wie stark sind Ihre Schmerzen?' 'Wo genau tut es weh?' 'Strahlen die Schmerzen irgendwohin aus?'
• History and safety. 'Nehmen Sie regelmäßig Medikamente ein?' and 'Sind Ihnen Allergien bekannt?'
• The Arztbrief, in order. Diagnosen, Anamnese, Befund, Epikrise, Procedere.
• The handover. 'Ich stelle Ihnen Herrn Müller vor...' to open, and 'Differentialdiagnostisch kommen folgende Erkrankungen in Betracht...' for the differential.

Questions from FSP candidates

Short answers from our Medical German FSP guide. Your own chamber has the final word.

• What level do I need? Chambers ask for general German at B2 as the starting point. The exam itself expects C1-level German in a medical context.
• Is the FSP the same in every state? Not exactly. The three-part structure comes from shared guidelines agreed in 2014, but each state arranges its own procedure, including how you register and what you pay.
• What is the pass rate? Official figures are scarce. Our guide quotes the only ones we found: in Baden-Württemberg about 65% of candidates passed in 2020 and in 2021 (Bundesärztekammer).
• Can I retake it? The Niedersachsen and Thüringen information sheets both say the number of attempts is not limited. Ask your chamber how to re-register and what it costs.

Practice and reading for the FSP

Each of these is free to open.

• Free browser preview. Twenty FSP cards with audio, in the browser, before or alongside your study.
• FSP Vocabulary. How the sub-decks map to the three parts of the exam.
• FSP Anamnese Guide. The first part of the exam in detail.
• FSP Arztbrief Guide. The medical letter in detail.
• Medical German FSP Guide. The exam structure, part by part.
• Can Foreign Doctors Work in Germany? The route to a license.
• Could You Survive Your First Day at a German Hospital? A 10-question quiz on language, not medical knowledge.

The "Again" button is your friend

When Anki shows you a card and you don't know the answer, hit Again. Not "Hard." Not "Good." Again.

Spaced repetition works best when you're honest about what you don't know. Cards you mark "Again" come back sooner. Cards you know well space out further. The algorithm adjusts to you. Trust it.

Audio on every card

Every word card has professional audio. On desktop, audio plays automatically when the card appears. On mobile, tap the speaker icon.

Audio plays for the technical wording, the everyday wording and the example sentences, and it is a single voice. Say the patient version out loud, then the doctor version. That switch is what the exam asks of you.

Lifetime updates

Your purchase includes free updates for the life of the product. When we add new cards, fix audio, or improve translations, you can re-download the latest version from Lemon Squeezy at no extra cost.

When we release a new version, it appears on your original Lemon Squeezy download link; download it again to get it.

Need help?

Reply to any Eidetic email or reach out at hello@eidetic.cards. We read everything and respond fast.