🇩🇪 Durations of the residency programs in Germany (🇩🇪 die Dauer der Facharztausbildung)

The duration of each medical specialty in Germany is different from the other ones. In this article, we make a summary of that. The numbers are official. These numbers could be read from the following official document:

(Muster-)Weiterbildungsordnung
🇺🇸 (Model-)training regulations

The most recent version is from 2018. You can download it from this link.

More explanation about these regulations is here:

🇩🇪 The Logbook (🇩🇪 das Logbuch): Content of each medical residency (🇩🇪 die Facharztausbildung)

We wrote the duration for each specialty in the table below. For almost each medical specialty in Germany we have a Fecebook and Telegram group. The links are also in the table. Or you can enter through the following link the telegram groups of the most active 25 groups. Or though this link, you can enter all of our 59 telegram groups.

	Duration (in years)	Facebook	Telegram
💊 Allgemeinchirurgie (General Surgery)	6	Link	Link
💊 Allgemeinmedizin (Family Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Anästhesiologie (Anesthesiology)	5	Link	Link
💊 Arbeitsmedizin (Occupational Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Augenheilkunde (Ophthalmologie)	5	Link	Link
💊 Dermatologie (Dermatology)	5	Link	Link
💊 Forensische Psychiatrie (Forensic Psychiatry)	2 (after psychiatry specialty)	Link	Link
💊 Gefäßchirurgie (Vascular Surgery)	6	Link	Link
💊 Geriatrie (Geriatrics) (as subspecialty)	1,5	Link	Link
💊 Gynäkologie, Frauenheilkunde & Geburtshilfe (Obstetrics & Gynecology) (OBGYN)	5	Link	Link
💊 Herzchirurgie (Heart Surgery)	6	Link	Link
💊 HNO (Hals-Nasen-Ohrenheilkunde) (ENT)	5	Link	Link
💊 Humangenetik (Human Genetics)	5	Link	Link
💊 Hygiene und Umweltmedizin (Hygiene and Environmental Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Innere Medizin (Internal Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Interntal medicine subspecialties (like cardiology, gastroenerology): – if you do them from beginn of residency: 1 year – If not: 2 years		Link	–
💊 Kinder- und Jugendchirurgie (Child and Adolescent Surgery)	6
💊 Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie (KJPP) (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)	5	Link	Link
💊 Klinische Pharmakologie (Clinical Pharmacology)	5	Link	Link
💊 Laboratoriumsmedizin (Lab Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Mikrobiologie, Virologie & Infektionsepidemiologie (Microbiology, Virology and Infections Epidemiology)	5	Link	Link
💊 MKG (Mund-Kiefer-Gesichtschirurgie) (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery)	Bachelor in Dentistry: 5 Bacehlor in Medicine: 5 Residency: 5 years Total: 15 yeras	Link	Link
💊 Neonatologie (Neonatology)	2 (after pediatrics)	Link	Link
💊 Neurochirurgie (Neurosurgery)	6	Link	Link
💊 Neurologie (Neurology)	5	Link	Link
💊 Neurointensiv (Neurocritical care)	2 (after neurology or neurosurgery)	Link	Link
💊 Neuropädiatrie (Neuropediatrics)	2 (after pediatrics)	Link	Link
💊 Neuroradiologie (Neuroradiology)	2 (after radiology)	Link	Link
💊 Notfallmedizin (Emergency medicine)	Only courses + clinical experience*	Link	Link
💊 Nuklearmedizin (Nuclear Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Orthopädie & Unfallchirurgie (Orthopedics)	6	Link	Link
💊 Palliativmedizin (Palliative Care)	Courses	Link	Link
💊 Pathologie (Pathology)	6	Link	Link
💊 Pharmakologie und Toxikologie (Pharmacology & Toxicology)	5	Link	Link
💊 Physikalische und Rehabilitative Medizin (Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Plastische und ästhetische Chirurgie (Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery)	6	Link	Link
💊 Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie (Psychiatry & Psychotherapy)	5	Link	Link
💊 Psychosomatische Medizin & Psychotherapie (Psychosomatic Medicine & Psychotherapy)	5	Link	Link
💊 Pädiatrie (Kinderheilkunde) (Pediatrics)	5	Link	Link
💊 Radiologie und Neuroradiologie (Radiology)	5	Link	Link
💊 Rechtsmedizin (Forensic Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Schmerztherapie (Pain Medicine)	1	Link	–
💊 Sportmedizin (Sport Medicine)	Courses	Link	–
💊 Strahlentherapie (Radiotheray)	5	Link	Link
💊 Thoraxchirurgie (Thoracic Surgery Board)	6	Link	Link
💊 Transfusionsmedizin (Transfusion Medicine)	5	Link	Link
💊 Urologie (Urology)	5	Link	Link
💊 Viszeralchirurgie (Visceral Surgery)	6	Link	Link

For almost all medical specialties in Germany, there is a medical society. More details here:

🇩🇪 Medical societies in Germany

Very important note:

The above durations do not mean that you are for sure going to finish the residency in the given period. In the above article about the log book (link here again), we explained that there are certain things to be done and learnt for each specialty. So, if you did not do them, your residency will continue indefinitely (or you have a nice head of department!). Moreover, some delays could result because you need to do rotations (some times needing to change the hospital and find a new posistion). But do not be afraid. With good planning and good connections, many finish the residency on time. To be able to finish on time, you can read this article to avoid common mistakes:

🇩🇪 Doctors: Factors that could increase your residency period (🇩🇪 die Facharztausbildung) in Germany

* There is no specialty for the emergency medicine. Doctors of many specialties just need a certain course (about 90 horus of teaching for 1 Week), learn a few procedures (like intubation, chest tube insertion, etc.) and be present in about 50 drives with a license emergency physicians. Then they will get this certificate. Wikipedia article in German about emergency medicine in Germany: link.

Want to learn more? Questions?
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(On mobile phone: The links are at the end of this page/ On PC: On the right side)

Further readings:
• “How Long is Medical Residency in Germany? A Comprehensive Comparison with England, USA, Canada, and Australia”, German medical residency website, link.