A Famulatur is a mandatory clinical clerkship in medical school in Germany and Austria: you work under supervision in a hospital or practice to learn real clinical work. In Germany it lasts four months in total, in Austria usually 12 weeks. This guide explains the rules, how it compares to a medical elective, and how to do yours abroad.
Last updated: 7 October 2026 · Author: MUDr. Andreas Zehetner, physician (MUDr., equivalent to an MD) and co-founder of travel4med
Key facts at a glance
Definition: A Famulatur is a required clinical clerkship in German-speaking medical degrees, comparable to a clinical elective or rotation.
Germany: 4 months – one month each in outpatient care, hospital, general practice and an elective setting (§ 7 ÄApprO).
Austria: 12 weeks at MedUni Vienna, MedUni Graz and JKU Linz; 18 weeks at MedUni Innsbruck.
Switzerland: no nationally regulated Famulatur – the elective year (Wahlstudienjahr) covers clinical practice.
Abroad: possible – whether it counts depends on your exam office or university and the hospital.
A Famulatur is a compulsory clinical clerkship that medical students in Germany and Austria complete during their degree. You join a medical team in a hospital or practice, take histories, examine patients and assist with routine procedures – always under the supervision of a licensed physician. In English it is closest to a clinical clerkship or medical elective.
The word comes from the Latin famulus, meaning “assistant”. That describes your role well: you help, but you do not treat patients on your own. In Germany the rules are set by federal law, the Approbationsordnung für Ärzte (§ 7 ÄApprO). In Austria, each medical university sets them in its curriculum.
If you study outside the German-speaking world, you will mostly meet the term when you apply to German or Austrian hospitals, or when you read reports from German-speaking students. Your own programme may call the same experience an elective, a clinical attachment or a clinical placement.
In Germany a Famulatur lasts four months in total, split into four one-month sections: outpatient care, hospital, general practice and one elective month. In Austria the required time is 12 weeks at most public universities and 18 weeks at MedUni Innsbruck. Switzerland has no fixed Famulatur; clinical time is organised through the elective year instead.
Germany | Austria | Switzerland | |
|---|---|---|---|
Total duration | 4 months (about 120 calendar days) | 12 weeks (Innsbruck 18) | no fixed Famulatur; e.g. UZH elective year: 9 months of clinical work |
Legal basis | § 7 ÄApprO (federal) | curriculum of each university | faculty regulations |
Structure | 1 month outpatient · 1 month hospital · 1 month general practice · 1 month elective | e.g. Vienna: 4 weeks internal medicine, 4 weeks primary care, 4 weeks elective | e.g. UZH: internal medicine/primary care, surgery and an elective subject |
Who recognises it | state examination office (Landesprüfungsamt) | university study office | medical faculty |
In numbers: in Germany the general practice month makes up 25 % of the required time and must be done in Germany, while the other 75 % can in principle be completed abroad if the facility qualifies.
Secure your spot for your internship abroad now.
In Germany, students complete it during lecture-free periods after passing the first state exam (Physikum, M1) and before registering for the second state exam (M2) – so before the final practical year (PJ). In Austria it runs alongside the degree, mostly in summer breaks, with university-specific deadlines.
A typical German path through medical school looks like this:
Nursing placement (3 months) – before the Physikum
Physikum / M1 – end of the pre-clinical phase
Famulatur (4 months) – during clinical semester breaks
M2 – written state exam
Practical year (PJ) – 48 weeks in three 16-week rotations
Austrian examples: MedUni Vienna requires 8 of its 12 weeks before students enter the third study section; MedUni Innsbruck requires at least 12 weeks before students can register for the KMP 6B exam.
In Germany there are four sections: outpatient care (a practice or outpatient clinic), hospital (inpatient ward or rehab facility), general practice, and an elective month that can be spent in any suitable medical setting, including public health. Austrian universities instead define compulsory subjects, such as internal medicine, surgery or primary care, plus freely chosen weeks.
You join a ward team, go on rounds, see the emergency department or operating theatre and follow patients from admission to discharge.
You spend the time in a doctor’s practice or a hospital outpatient clinic. Some German exam offices require full-time attendance, Monday to Friday.
In Germany one month must be spent with a GP-type practice (general medicine, paediatrics or general internal medicine). This section cannot be completed abroad.
The elective month (Germany) or free weeks (Austria) let you follow your interests – a dream specialty, a different healthcare system, or a placement abroad.
You work as part of the medical team: taking histories, examining patients, drawing blood, placing IV lines, joining ward rounds and presenting cases. Everything happens under supervision. You do not make independent diagnoses, prescribe treatment or sign medical documents.
Morning: handover, blood draws, cannulas
Late morning: ward round, admissions, examinations
Midday: case discussion, sometimes assisting in theatre
Afternoon: preparing letters for review, discussing results, asking questions
A tip from my own experience: on day one, ask actively which tasks you may take on. It is the difference between watching and learning. Our guide to elective learning objectives helps you set clear goals.
Usually not. German law does not provide for pay, and as a compulsory internship it is exempt from the German minimum wage (§ 22 MiLoG). In Austria there is no statutory pay either. Some hospitals offer meals, accommodation or a small allowance voluntarily – ask the hospital directly.
Plan it as a project with a budget: travel, accommodation, insurance and, abroad, vaccinations and possibly a visa.
Request all the important info for free, no obligation.
Every section needs a signed certificate from the hospital or practice. In Germany you submit it to the state examination office of the state where you study, using the official form in Annex 6 of the ÄApprO (Anlage 6 ÄApprO). In Austria the study office of your university checks it – MedUni Vienna, for example, expects it within 2 months, together with a logbook.
A certificate should include:
your name and the name of the facility and department
exact dates (from – to), in full calendar days
the type of section and specialty
the original signature of the supervising doctor
the facility’s stamp or seal
Certificates not issued in German often need a certified translation for German exam offices. Have the certificate signed only after the section ends – backdated or pre-dated certificates are not accepted.
Yes. In Germany, a section completed abroad in a hospital or outpatient facility can be credited (§ 7 (4) ÄApprO) – but not the general practice month. Austrian universities set their own limits: JKU Linz allows up to 4 weeks abroad, and MedUni Vienna prefers internal medicine and primary care in Austria or the EU, leaving the free weeks for further destinations.
Famulaturen abroad are recognised if the facilities meet certain criteria. Whether yours counts depends on your examination office or university and the hospital – we help you check this before you book.
Why go abroad? You see conditions you rarely meet at home, work in a different healthcare system and build your medical English. Add culture, landscapes and people, and it becomes a trip you will never forget. Medicine meets adventure.
With travel4med you can complete a clinical placement in four destinations: Bali (RSU Bangli Hospital), Zanzibar (Lumumba Regional Hospital), Sri Lanka (Galle) and Nepal (Pokhara). Placements always start on a Monday. For travel health, the WHO is a good starting point; get individual vaccination advice from a travel clinic. All details are on our clinical placement abroad page.
A Famulatur, a medical elective and the practical year are all clinical training, but they differ in timing, length and responsibility. The Famulatur is a mid-degree clerkship in Germany and Austria. An elective is the international term for a short clinical placement of your choice. The practical year (PJ in Germany, KPJ in Austria) is the final 48-week clinical year.
Famulatur | Medical elective | Practical year (PJ/KPJ) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Where the term is used | Germany, Austria | international (UK, US, many other countries) | Germany (PJ), Austria (KPJ) |
Duration | 4 months (DE), 12–18 weeks (AT) | often 4–8 weeks, set by your school | 48 weeks |
Timing | mid-degree, in semester breaks | usually in the clinical years | final year |
Responsibility | supervised assistant | supervised, varies by programme | more independence, still supervised |
Learn more |
Not studying medicine yet, or in nursing? Take a look at our nursing placement abroad.
Plan backwards: first check the rules of your exam office or university, then choose the specialty and location, then apply. Popular hospitals and placements abroad are often booked months in advance. This checklist keeps you on track.
Read your exam office’s or university’s rules: duration, sections, rules for abroad
Map out which section fits into which semester break
In Germany: plan the general practice month at home
Abroad: confirm in writing that the facility will be accepted
Send your application with CV and motivation letter in good time
Plan vaccinations, insurance and visa
Print the certificate form and take it with you
Get it signed after the section ends, submit it and keep a copy
Afterwards, our guide to writing a medical elective report helps you document what you learned.
More than 1,500 people have already completed their medical placements with travel4med. We take care of your hospital place, accommodation and preparation – you enjoy the adventure.
Book a free consultation · Free information material
Approbationsordnung für Ärzte (ÄApprO), § 7 – gesetze-im-internet.de (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
ÄApprO, Annex 6 – gesetze-im-internet.de (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
Mindestlohngesetz, § 22 – gesetze-im-internet.de (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
MedUni Vienna, curriculum Human Medicine, section 6.1 – meduniwien.ac.at (PDF) (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
MedUni Innsbruck, mandatory clerkship – i-med.ac.at (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
JKU Linz, Clinical Traineeship Human Medicine – jku.at (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
University of Zurich, elective year guidelines – med.uzh.ch (PDF) (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
WHO, Travel and health – who.int (accessed 7 Oct 2026)
OTHER BLOGS
Medical elective approval decides whether your placement abroad counts. See who signs it off, which documents you need and how much notice your school wants.
MUDr. Andreas Zehetner
2. September 2026
Travellers diarrhoea hits up to 70% of travellers in two weeks. Learn how to prevent it, treat it fast and avoid losing ward days on your elective abroad.
MUDr. Amandeep Grewal
19. August 2026
Which vaccinations do you need for a medical elective abroad? Your 2026 timeline for hepatitis B, MMR, yellow fever and travel jabs — book a free consultation today.
Nils-Andre Stritt
10. August 2026