You can demonstrate that your training is equivalent in two ways:

• through a document-based equivalence assessment (expert opinion) or
• through a knowledge examination.

The waiting time for the expert opinion (document-based equivalence assessment) is very long and currently takes at least 12 months.

If the expert opinion identifies a significant difference in even one subject, you must additionally take the knowledge examination. There is also a waiting time for the knowledge examination (approximately half as long as for the expert opinion).

If you decide on a document-based equivalence assessment, you must also submit the following documents with your application:

• the individualized curriculum (study plan) of your university in the original AND in qualified German translation (please refer to the information in Annex 1 | DE (pdf) and Annex 6 | DE (pdf) on our website)
• the cost assumption declaration (Annex 5 | DE (pdf) on our website)

Without these documents, no individual assessment of your training can be conducted.

What happens if the curriculum does not meet all requirements?

If the submitted curriculum does not meet the requirements from Annex 1 | DE (pdf) and Annex 6 | DE (pdf), no expert opinion can be prepared. In this case, you must take the knowledge examination. 

You can demonstrate that your training is equivalent in two ways:

• through a document-based equivalence assessment (expert opinion) or
• through a knowledge examination.

If you choose the knowledge examination, you do not need to submit a curriculum (study plan).
 

Equivalent training in the field of pharmacy is always demonstrated by an expert opinion and - if deficits are identified in it - an additional knowledge test.

In general, the State Chamber of Pharmacists offers various courses to prepare for examinations:

Landesapothekerkammer Baden-Württemberg

• An external expert examines your training exclusively based on the submitted documents.
• If the expert opinion identifies a significant difference in even one subject, you must additionally take the knowledge examination.
• In the field of Medicine, the fees for an expert opinion are significantly higher than for the knowledge examination.
• Furthermore, the waiting time for the expert opinion in the field of Medicine is currently at least 12 months (approximately twice as long as for the knowledge examination).

• An oral-practical examination determines whether your knowledge and skills correspond to German training.
• In the field of Medicine, the waiting time is significantly shorter – only about half as long as for the expert opinion.
• The knowledge examination is therefore the faster and more cost-effective option for many applicants in the field of Medicine.

 

Once you have submitted all required documents in full and passed the specialized language examination, we will automatically register you for the knowledge examination at the Medical Association of Baden-Württemberg. A separate application is not required.

Important note: 
Postponement or delay of the knowledge examination is not possible. Therefore, please submit your application only when you feel professionally prepared for the examination. If you need more preparation time, you can submit your application later – or alternatively opt for the document-based equivalence assessment (expert opinion).

As soon as you have registered with us for the knowledge test, we will put you on our waiting list. Unfortunately, we cannot give you any specific information about the length of the waiting time, as waiting times cannot be predicted in advance and are also unpredictable.

Unfortunately it is for organisational reasons not possible to request appointments, even for certain months.

Please also note that there is no entitlement to a specific examination location.

Usually you will receive notification of the examination fee four to six weeks before the examination date. When you receive notification of the examination fee, you can therefore expect to receive an examination date within the next few weeks.

Please pay the fees (stating the reference number on the notification of costs) as soon as possible to avoid any delays.

The official summons to the examination will be sent to you by post no later than five calendar days before the examination date. This is regulated by law.

The cost of the exam is currently 1.100 euros.

 

The examination relates to the subjects of internal medicine and surgery.

The questions should also take the following aspects into account:

• Emergency medicine
• Clinical pharmacology/pharmacotherapy
• Imaging procedures
• Radiation protection
• Legal issues in the practice of medicine

The knowledge test is taken in the form of a state examination before a state examination board in German. The examination board is appointed by the Stuttgart Regional Council. The knowledge test includes oral and practical parts and takes place on one day.

During the examination, patients are present who present various health concerns. The examination tasks and questions are based on this. The patients' health concerns are related to the examination subjects. They form the basis for examinations and the collection of medical histories of illnesses relevant to care.

Before the examination date, the examination board will assign you the relevant patients. You will then prepare a patient report containing the patient's medical history, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment plan and an epicrisis of the case.

The oral examination also relates to the patients on site.

The examination also includes further interdisciplinary practical tasks focussing on the most important clinical pictures and health disorders for the medical profession. The examination also examines, on a case-by-case basis, whether the candidate has the knowledge and skills required to practise as a doctor, including the ability to conduct medical consultations.

After the examination, you will be informed of the result orally by the examination board. You will then receive information from us by post about the examination result and the further procedure. The test results of the examination must first be received from the examination board, please be patient.

If you do not pass the knowledge test, it can be repeated a total of two times.

Generally it is not possible to postpone appointments.

 

If you are ill on the day of the exam, we require a doctor's certificate as proof of illness without any delay.

The certificate must contain a precise diagnosis of the illness presented and should also state what specific effects the diagnosed illness has had or will have on your ability to take the examination on the day of the examination from a medical point of view. Only then can we decide whether you have an authorised withdrawal from the examination.

If you withdraw from the examination on the day of the examination due to illness, you must immediately submit the medical certificate as an e-mail attachment to the Stuttgart Regional Council and provide a telephone number where you can be contacted personally.

kenntnispruefung@baek-sb.de

You must subsequently send the original certificate to 

Landesärztekammer Baden-Württemberg 
(Zentrale Stelle bei der Bezirksärztekammer Südbaden)
Postfach 100229
79121 Freiburg

If your address, telephone number or e-mail address changes, please inform the Stuttgart Regional Council immediately.

Pregnancy is generally not a reason for not taking the exam. Only if you are on maternity leave on the day of the exam is it possible not to take the exam. In this case, please send us a medical certificate stating the expected date of birth.

If you would like to take the exam despite being on maternity leave, you can send us a certificate from a specialist in gynaecology stating that you can take the exam despite being on maternity leave.

If you do not pass the knowledge test and the examination board states in its assessment that due to the serious professional deficits identified - particularly in aspects relevant to patient safety - it is not advisable for you to work as a doctor, even under supervision, we will check whether any professional license that has already been issued will be revoked.

The aim of this measure is to ensure patient safety. A professional license is revoked after careful examination of the individual case and in compliance with legal requirements.

On our website you will find the  application form for the knowledge test (pdf / german), which you should complete, sign and send to us by post together with the application form and all other documents. As soon as all documents are complete and have been checked, we will register you for the knowledge test with the Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Dentists and inform you of your registration.

 

As soon as we have registered you with the State Chamber of Dentists for the knowledge test, you will be placed on the waiting list.

Unfortunately, we cannot give you any specific information about the length of the waiting period. Please contact the relevant chamber directly if necessary.

The State Chamber of Dentists will inform you of the examination date and send you a notification of the examination fee.

In addition, you will receive the official invitation to the examination from the regional council by post at least five calendar days before the examination date. This is regulated by law.

The costs for the individual parts of the examination (written, oral, practical) can be obtained directly from the  Landeszahnärztekammer Baden-Württemberg.

 

You can find an information sheet on the contents of the knowledge test on the website of the Baden-Württemberg Dental Association under the following link:

Landeszahnärztekammer Baden-Württemberg: Recognition of foreign professional qualifications (english available)

The knowledge test is taken in the form of a state examination before a state examination board in German. The knowledge test consists of three parts: written, oral and practical. You will be given a separate examination date for each part. You must first pass the previous part of the examination in order to be admitted to the next part.

After the examination, you will be informed of the result by the State Chamber of Dentists. If you have passed all three parts of the knowledge test, you will receive information from us by e-mail about the further procedure. The test results of the examination must first be received from the examination board, please be patient.

If you have not passed one part of the knowledge test, you will be considered for a retake date by the State Chamber of Dentists. Each part of the examination can be repeated twice.

It is generally not possible to postpone appointments.

 

If you are ill on the day of the exam, we require a doctor's certificate as proof of illness without any delay.

The certificate must contain a precise diagnosis of the illness presented and should also state what specific effects the diagnosed illness has had or will have on your ability to take the examination on the day of the examination from a medical point of view. Only then can we decide whether you have an authorised withdrawal from the examination.

If you withdraw from the examination on the day of the examination due to illness, you must inform your responsible clerk at the regional council and the Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Dentists immediately by e-mail and attach the medical certificate to the e-mail.

You must then send us the original certificate by post:

Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart
Referat 98
Ruppmannstraße 21
70565 Stuttgart

If your address, telephone number or e-mail address changes, please inform the Stuttgart Regional Council and the Baden-Württemberg Dental Association immediately.

Pregnancy is generally not a reason for not taking the exam. Only if you are on maternity leave on the day of the exam is it possible not to take the exam. In this case, please send us a medical certificate stating the expected date of birth.

If you would like to take the exam despite being on maternity leave, you can send us a certificate from a specialist in gynaecology stating that you can take the exam despite being on maternity leave.

As soon as you have submitted all the necessary documents to us, we will check your application and commission an expert report from the State Chamber of Pharmacists.

You will then receive a notification from us (notification of deficit) together with an expert opinion from the State Chamber of Pharmacists. You can then register directly with the State Chamber of Pharmacists for the knowledge test.

You can arrange an appointment for the knowledge test with the State Chamber of Pharmacists. Examination days with knowledge tests are usually held about once a month.

Further information can be found on the website of the State Chamber of Pharmacists:
Landesapothekerkammer Baden-Württemberg

You arrange the examination date directly with the State Chamber of Pharmacists.

As a rule, you will receive an official invitation from the regional council about four weeks before the examination date and at the same time a notification of the examination fee. Please pay the fees (stating the payment reference) as soon as possible so that there are no delays.

The examination fee is currently 500 euros

 

Three subjects are always tested in the knowledge test.

The examination covers the subjects Pharmaceutical Practice, Special Legal Areas for Pharmacists and one of the subjects in which significant differences between your training and the German training have been identified.

For more information on your examination subjects and the contents of the examination, please refer to the letter (notification of deficiency) from the Stuttgart Regional Council in which you were informed about the knowledge test to be taken. In the examination, you must demonstrate that you have the knowledge and skills required to practise the profession of pharmacist.

The knowledge test is an oral examination in German and lasts approximately 30 to 60 minutes. It takes place at the State Chamber of Pharmacists.

 

After the examination, you will be informed of the result directly orally by the examination board. You will then receive information from us about the next steps. The test results of the examination must first be received from the examination board, please be patient.

If you do not pass the knowledge test, it can be repeated a total of two times.

It is generally not possible to postpone appointments.

 

[If you are ill on the day of the examination, the State Chamber of Pharmacists must be informed immediately. In addition, the Chamber requires a doctor's certificate as proof of illness. If you have any further questions, please contact the State Chamber of Pharmacists directly.

Pregnancy is generally not a reason for not taking the exam. Only if you are on maternity leave on the day of the examination is it possible not to take the examination. In this case, please send us and the State Chamber of Pharmacists a medical certificate stating the expected date of birth.

If you would like to take part in the examination despite maternity leave, you can send us and the State Chamber of Pharmacists a certificate from a specialist in gynaecology stating that you can take part in the examination despite maternity leave.

Have you completed your training in a third country and decide to have the equivalence of your training determined by an expert opinion?

The costs for this currently amount to 1,773 euros. Only when we have received this amount and all the additional documents required have been submitted will we commission the assessment from the Assessment Centre for Healthcare Professions.

The following additional documents are required for an expert opinion:

• Individualised curriculum with itemised content in the original with German translation:
  The translation must be carried out by a publicly appointed or sworn translator in Germany. A legalisation or Hague Apostille is not required here.
• Other certificates of qualification, if these are required to establish equivalence:
  For example, evidence of professional experience including type and duration of medical activities, evidence of completed internships, etc.
• Evidence of the practical phase:
  For example internship, internship, residency, logbook / curriculum if applicable

In the case of DENTAL certificates, a distinction must be made between theory and practice when verifying the number of hours.

Note on the individualised curriculum:
An individualised curriculum (study book) is the curriculum/study book of the university. The curriculum provides information about the main content of the courses/subjects you have attended (see Section 3 (3) sentences 1 and 2 in conjunction with (2) and (6) no. 6 BÄO) and is therefore a mandatory requirement for the equivalence assessment. The curriculum must be accompanied by a confirmation from the university stating that this curriculum relates to the degree programme you have personally completed. The letter of confirmation from the university must be stapled to the curriculum and the stapling must be stamped or sealed by the university.

Please note that the submitted curriculum must also remain with the authority after the procedure has been completed.

Have you completed your training in a third country (non-EU/EEA/CH)?

Then you can submit an application to us together with documents such as your diploma, licence, professional licence, registrations, subject overviews and study book. After an initial check for completeness and plausibility, the documents will be forwarded to the State Chamber of Pharmacists so that they can issue an expert opinion on the equivalence of the training.

You will then receive the report from us together with a fee notice for 250 euros. The report will show you whether or which deficits have been identified. This will enable you to prepare specifically for the knowledge test.