• Introduction
In this article, we will explain the working times of doctors in German hospitals.
If you have any doubts or need more clarification, feel free to ask in the main group of Facharzt JETZT (now) on Facebook and Telegram at any time. This article serves as a guide to enhance your understanding of the topic; however, it should not be your sole resource. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, always consult official websites. There is a disclaimer regarding the content of this website. You can read it here.
• Working times of doctors in German hospitals:
The working times vary a little from one specialty to another and from one hospital to another. But the differences are easy to explain.
• Regular working hours
In Germany’s more than 1800 non-university hospitals, the regular working hours are 40 hours per week, divided into 8 hours per day from Monday to Friday. Only one or two doctors work the daily shifts on Saturdays and Sundays. Regular or planned operations and admissions do not happen on the weekend.
In University hospitals, the regular working hours are “officially” 42 hours per week, but unofficially, they could reach 80 hours (including the night shifts). Most of these extra hours are usually unpaid or taken as free time. Starting from 2026, the official regular working hours will be reduced to 40 per week without salary reductions (source).
• Starting and ending times of the regular working hours
Generally, surgical specialties start to work early. We can say around 06:30 to 07:30 AM. Most other specialties would start working between 07:30 and 08:00 AM.
By law, there should be a 30- to 45-minute unpaid rest time (🇩🇪 die Pause) in the middle. The regular working hours are 8 hours, so, surgical specialties would be able to go home around 03:00 to 04:00 PM. Most other specialties around 04:30 PM.
💡 It is common that residents in surgical specialties stay working for longer hours. Around 1 to 3 hours extra per day. In University hospitals, some stay until 8 or 9 PM. So, do not be so sad if you did not get a residency position in the University Hospital of Heidelberg!!! There is a price to be paid for working in University Hospitals.
Facharzt JETZT!
• Night shifts
Small—and medium-sized hospitals have a system where each resident must work a night shift around 3–4 times per month. Many start working regularly on that day (in some hospitals, you start working around 1–3 hours later). You do your normal ward work, and then after about 4 PM, you start your night shift until the next day.
In large hospitals, they have night shift systems. So, you might work for 4 or 5 nights in a row, usually starting from 8 pm and ending at 8 am the next day. Then you will have 3 to 4 days without work. This working system generates less money than the above system because residents work only around 160 hours a month. Doing extra night shifts generates more money. We explained the pay in this article: “Salaries of doctors in Germany“.
• Shifts on the weekend
Working laws now allow doctors to work maximally two weekends per month. In small- and medium-sized hospitals, many work 24 hours. This is a well-paid shift, and you are often required only to do one such shift per month. Other doctors say they cannot work 24 hours and prefer to do two times 12 hours at two weekends. Others did 2 or 3 shifts for 24 hours per month on the weekend (like me!)
• Three shifts model
In large hospitals and departments, there are sometimes three shifts in the intensive care unit, Stroke Unit, or Emergency department. This means that some doctors might start working at 8 AM, others eight hours later at 4 PM, and others around 10 PM.
Sometimes, there is a “middle shift,” like in the Stroke Units. One doctor starts at 8 AM, another around 12 AM, and the last one at 4 PM. The doctor who started at 8 AM goes home at 04:30 PM, and the one who started at 12 AM goes home at 08:30 PM. The one who started at 4 PM remains until the next day (his shift is around 16 hours).
• On-call duty (🇩🇪 die Rufbereitschaft)
This is usually for specialties like Urology, ENT, Ophthalmology, and Dermatology in small and medium-sized hospitals. The doctor who has the shift does not remain in the hospital and can go home, but he is expected to return in emergency cases. The doctor is paid a small amount for the hours he is NOT at the hospital (around 5 Euros per hour). If he came to the hospital (active hours), he writes for how many hours he stayed there, and it is better paid.
• Which working models are the best?
It depends on your goal:
| Earn a lot of money extra to your monthly salary BUT have less free time | Earn a little extra money BUT Have more free time for your hobbies, family, research, etc |
|---|---|
| Then, the normal system has 24-hour shifts and shifts on the weekends. In this system, many residents work, on average, around 40 hours extra. This generates a net extra monthly income of around 100–1400 euros. | Then, the three-shift and night-shift systems cause you to work around 160 hours per month (equal to the regular working hours). So, you have more free time BUT less extra money in your salary. The extra pay is for the night shifts (around 200 to 300 euros per month as net salary) |
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Good afternoon,
I had some questions regarding the dermatology residency here in Germany :
Is it 3 to 4 years like most countries or is it 5? I always ask this question and always receive a different answer to it.
Thank you in advance,
Best regards.
easy question 🎉 See here: https://facharztJETZT.de/durations/
Guten Morgen
I have a question regarding getting a specialty as an immigrant doctor.
How long does it take to be a resident doctor after being a general practitioner?
And can I be a Neuropsyciatric a doctor or Neuro is a speciality on its own in Germany?
Thank you
You can be a neurologist alone (5 years residency, one of them in psychiatry). You can then do psychiatry. You need extra 4 years. In total,9 years.
You can start immediately a residency
Is overtime paid in hospitals in Germany? I don’t mean the night or weekend shifts, but the hours when you can’t leave the hospital because there is work to be done (documentation, patient has a complication, etc.). Thank you in advance for the answer.
Very good questions. For beginners, some hospitals try to avoid paying overtime. Because doctors are often very slow in working and do not enough German and medicine. In small cities and non-private hospitals, overtime is almost always paid. In most hospitals, if there is an emergency, of course overtime is paid, but this is seldom and there are always doctors in the shifts, so you should not rather be involved.