Practical year
Your Guide from A to Z
[A] [B] [E] [F] [H] [I] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [Z]
After successfully passing the second section of the medical exam (M2), the third stage of your medical studies begins: the practical year. This PJ glossary will help you with your questions about the PJ from A to Z. You can find instructions on how to book your PJ placements under Registration.
A
Abbreviations
- ALKH - Academic Teaching Hospital
- AMED – General Medicine
- BÄD – Medical Officer Service
- LA - Learning Agreement
- LPA - State Examination Office
Registration
Registration for the clinical internship via the PJ Portal is mandatory for all MFD students who will begin their clinical internship starting with the next cohort. It takes place regularly 6 months before the start of the clinical internship.
Registration on the PJ portal is required regardless of whether the PJ is completed at the MFD’s ALKH, nationwide, or abroad.
PJ Management Contacts:
see PJ Portal
General Medicine (AMED)
The “other clinical-practical specialty” rotation can also be completed in the field of general medicine as a PJ elective at one of the TU Dresden academic teaching practices.
In addition to registering on the PJ portal, you must obtain confirmation from the AMED practice and send it to the PJ Management.
Working Hours
During the clinical internship, students are generally expected to be present at the clinic full-time on all weekdays. Working hours during the clinical internship amount to 40 hours per week when completed full-time.
This includes practice-based instruction (rounds, literature review, and case discussions under the supervision of experienced physicians, as well as seminars and lectures on selected topics in the relevant specialty, colloquia, radiology conferences, pharmacotherapy discussions, and interdisciplinary continuing education events) averaging 2.5 hours per day.
This time may not be covered solely by any of the activities listed here. See Absences
Certificate of Equivalence
A clinical internship completed abroad must obtain a so-called certificate of equivalence for registration for the M3 exam. This includes the so-called certificate of equivalence from the foreign university. (See LPA)
Medical Licensing Regulations (ÄApprO)
The version dated June 27, 2002, is currently in effect and serves as the legal basis for the clinical internship. The revision of the new ÄApprO is still ongoing and has not yet been finalized.
During the training described in paragraph 1, which focuses on patient-centered training, students are expected to deepen and expand the medical knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired during their previous studies. They are expected to learn how to apply these to individual clinical cases. To this end, they are to perform medical tasks assigned to them in accordance with their level of training, under the guidance, supervision, and responsibility of the supervising physician.
The current clinical rotation regulations of the MFD are derived from the ÄApprO.
Expense Allowance
During the PJ, the ALKH grants so-called voluntary training subsidies (expense allowances), though there is no obligation to do so. These consist of monetary payments and additional in-kind benefits. The maximum limit is the BAföG maximum rate.
Benefits in kind may include, for example: meals, travel allowance, work clothing, housing. Cash payments are not permitted!
Abroad
As part of PJ mobility, a PJ abroad is also possible provided the nationally valid rotation periods are observed. You must submit applications independently and, upon acceptance, enter them into the PJ portal yourself.
Please note: An 8-week split abroad is only possible in combination with 8 additional weeks here at your home university or at 2 clinics in the same country. See also (abroad) splitting
For applications abroad, the PJ Management will be happy to provide you with supplementary documents (see also LoR, LA)
We generally recommend a PJ rotation at your home university.
B
Coordinators
A PJ coordinator is available to PJ students in every clinic. He or she is responsible for the content and organization of the training program during the PJ. The number of PJ students on the wards should not exceed 1 per 15 hospital beds. In the outpatient clinics, one student may be assigned to one physician.
Start
The clinical rotation always begins on fixed, mandatory dates: the third Monday in May or the third Monday in November (see Tertial)
Instruction
PJ briefings on rights, obligations, and insurance are verifiably conducted on-site at the ALKH. (See Liability)
Special Features
We offer various additional services to PJ students at the MFD. These include, among other things, PJ welcome events, PJ warm-ups, and other interdisciplinary events
Medical Officer Service (BÄD)
For the clinical internship, you need a valid Medical Officer examination and proof of your complete immunization status. Internal clinical internship students use the MFD’s BÄD. External clinical internship students must provide a valid examination from their home university’s Medical Officer’s office.
Bookings
There is a separate cohort schedule for the PJ portal for each cohort. Starting from the registration start date, eligible students can register on the PJ portal. Once you have received a confirmation email, you may participate in the process. You will then be validated by your home university, after which you can add your preferred placements to the “Wish List” and create your schedule.
In the overview for each clinic, you can see how many spots are available. Since the PJ Portal is an online booking system, these numbers may change continuously during the booking period; therefore, you should reload and refresh the Wishlist at any time (until the point when you are allowed to make a firm booking).
The individual start time is determined by a computerized random draw and communicated to the student via email. Starting from the individual start time, the three clinical rotations can be booked with a binding commitment. The booking window closes five weeks before the start of the clinical rotation; until then, you can change any booking.
See Hardship Cases
E
Extended Certificate of Good Conduct
For work in the fields of ANE, GYN, KCH, KIK, KJP, MKG, and RAD, an unredacted extended criminal record check must be submitted before starting the clinical internship (no older than 3 months)—Please direct any questions regarding the application form for the respective local office to the Human Resources Department of the respective ALKH.
Evaluation
It is very important to us that at the end of each clinical rotation, the training clinic/practice is evaluated by the clinical rotation students.
For this purpose, each clinical rotation student receives a QR code and TAN (transaction number) from the clinical rotation coordinator for the rotation, which grants access to the faculty’s evaluation platform. The evaluation is, of course, anonymous. The evaluation is conducted once a year by the clinical rotation management, the clinical rotation committee, and the clinical rotation coordinators of the hospitals to monitor the quality of clinical rotation training and compliance with the contracts with the ALKH.
Tip: The more often you evaluate, the more we can improve our ranking for future clinical rotation students. Thank you!
External PJ Students
We warmly welcome external PJ students from other German universities to join us for their PJ. The desired PJ placement can be booked via the PJ portal. A transfer to the MFD is not required for this.
Before the start of the PJ, the documents listed on the PJ portal must be submitted to the PJ management via email .
International medical students cannot complete a so-called “Practical Year or individual rotations thereof” with us if they are not enrolled at a German university. Therefore, booking via the PJ portal is not possible.
However, you are welcome to send your application for a so-called internship directly to the respective teaching hospital—specifically to the respective clinic.
F
Feedback
We encourage PJ students to make active use of regular self-assessments of their competencies and to invite supervising physicians during the PJ to provide external assessments, thereby fostering constructive and structured feedback sessions during the PJ.
Feedback during the PJ is considered highly important for professional development.
Please use our PJ Online Assessment Tool—Competency Assessment for PJ Students—for this purpose in each tertial.
Absences
| Working hours as % | T1 | T2 | T3 | Total weeks | Max. days absent | Max. days absent per tertial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 48 | 30 | 20 |
| 75 | 21+2 | 21+2 | 21+2 | 64 | 40 | 27 |
| 50 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 96 | 60 |
40 |
No absences are permitted in split tertials. See Splitting; See Interruptions
H
Liability
Liability during the clinical internship is very important; you will receive verifiable instruction on this from the respective academic teaching hospital (ALKH). Clinical internship students are still students during the internship but are subject to the respective regulations of the ALKH.
Hardship Cases
So-called hardship cases have the option to book PJ placements on the PJ Portal before all other PJ placements. Please submit a hardship case application in a timely manner via the PJ Portal
The MFD defines 4 grounds for hardship cases:
- personal disability
- Minor children in your care
- Doctoral studies – new: doctoral program only
- other reasons
Home university
Throughout the entire clinical internship up to and including the M3 exam, you remain a student at TU Dresden—that is, an internal clinical internship student—and must re-enroll on time (semester fee).
For an external clinical rotation—whether within Germany or abroad—no change of university is required.
We generally recommend completing one clinical rotation at your home university.
I
Information Days
The Dresden Medical Faculty generally holds two PJ information days each year:
- Major PJ Information Day with the ALKH Fair: Late March/Early April
- Small PJ Information Day: October
Internal PJ students
See home university
Domestic
Students have the option of completing their clinical rotations either
- at the university hospitals/teaching hospitals of the university where they are enrolled (home university) or
- at other university hospitals/teaching hospitals of other universities (domestic and international), provided there are sufficient spots available.
When booking via the PJ portal, a distinction is made between:
- Home university
- Domestic university (participating in the PJ portal)
- Domestic (on the PJ Portal) – non-participating university (for this, you must submit so-called letters of acceptance)
- Abroad
K
Cap
As part of a PJ elective (see Elective), up to 8 weeks may be completed in a so-called “PJ cap elective.” Students must obtain the consent of the department representative for this subject in advance; likewise, consent regarding the linkage to the so-called “PJ elective major” must be obtained in advance from the PJ coordinator for this subject area, as the latter issues the final overall tertial certificate.
However, enrollment in a PJ elective course typically excludes rotation in that specialty within the departments of Surgery or Internal Medicine.
Both confirmations must be submitted to the PJ management and result in the full registration being processed in the PJ portal.
Commission
ThePJ Commission oversees the organization of the Medical Practical Year at the MFD in accordance with the valid PJ regulations. In addition, it is responsible, among other things, for the adoption, review, and further development of the PJ logbooks, as well as for preparing the evaluation of the PJ and implementing its results in consultation with the teaching staff at the institutions that train the PJ students.
Chair: Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Thomas Zahnert, ENT
L
State Examination Office (LPA)
The Saxon State Examination Office for Academic Health Professions is the central examination authority for medical degree programs and other academic health professions in the Free State of Saxony. Please note the information regarding the third stage of study.
Learning Agreements and Letter of Recommendation
Those wishing to apply for the clinical year abroad can obtain the necessary certificates from the Clinical Year Management.
To do so, please email the following, specifying the clinical year and planned cohort:
- the form you have completed: Letter of Recommendation
- Proof of language proficiency (English or local language)
- if applicable, a copy of your preliminary medical examination (M1 certificate)
Learning Agreement documents requiring the signature of the Dean of Studies must be submitted via the PJ Management.
For an internship in another EU country lasting at least 2 months, you can apply for the ERASMUS+ mobility grant for internships. Your contact is the LEONARDO-OFFICE SAXONY.
Teaching Hospitals MFD
Currently, you can find the clinical internship at the UKD and clinical internships at our other teaching hospitals on the homepage of the clinical internship portal, including all contact persons with contact information and course offerings.
Teaching hospitals nationwide
Currently, you can find all affiliated teaching hospitals nationwide on the PJ portal homepage, including all contact persons with contact details and subject offerings. These are the universities participating in the PJ portal process along with their affiliated teaching hospitals; booking through the PJ portal eliminates the need for a separate application. When booking spots at ALKHs affiliated with universities not participating in the PJ Portal process, you must follow their individual application processes independently in addition to registering on the PJ Portal. See Domestic
Teaching hospitals worldwide
You must independently clarify PJ rotations abroad in advance with the LPA and the PJ program coordinator and independently verify which foreign university the hospital abroad is affiliated with. The "NRW" list – Teaching Hospitals Worldwide is not regularly updated! See Abroad
Teaching Practices (AMED only)
Here you will find a list of general practice teaching clinics.
See Electives
Other teaching practices
Here you will find a list of other teaching practices.
See Electives; See Required Courses
Logbooks
The MFD clinical rotation logbook outlines the training objectives for each clinical rotation subject and is relevant for the third section of the medical examination (M3). Therefore, it must be maintained at every ALKH for each tertial, regardless of whether the rotation takes place regionally, nationwide, or abroad.
You can find the corresponding logbook on our website.
M
Maternity Leave
If you have questions regarding maternity leave, please contact the respective PJ facility representative at your booked ALKH and, without fail, the PJ management at the MFD for further consultation. See Pregnancy
N
O
Regulations
The MFD’s Clinical Rotation Regulations are the valid regulations governing the implementation of the clinical rotation, derived from the current ÄApprO.
P
Portal
Registration for the PJ tertials takes place on the PJ Portal .
General Information on the Allocation Process:
- Placement for the Practical Year at Dresden University Hospital and our academic teaching hospitals is handled exclusively online via the PJ Portal.
- Please note the different placement offers in the May and November cohorts, as well as the specific booking instructions for the respective clinics and departments.
- The booking selection (internal/external participant, external non-participant, or abroad) must correspond to the facts. A comparison will be made with the LPA.
See Registrations; See Bookings
Required subjects
16 weeks of Surgery
16 weeks of Internal Medicine
In addition, for each training phase—typically lasting up to a maximum of 8 weeks—an excursion may be completed at suitable academic medical teaching practices or other suitable outpatient healthcare facilities with which TU Dresden has a contractual agreement.
The student must obtain the department representative’s approval in advance.
See Rotations
Q
Quarters
The transition from PJ tertials to PJ quarters for the standard medical degree program has not yet been legally adopted. See ÄApprO
R
Rotation
A rotation should be pursued in both the Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Surgery:
- Within the Internal Medicine rotation, the clinic should be changed at least once.
- Within the surgery rotation, a general surgery component and a specialized surgery component must always be completed.
Rotations must be discussed with the respective academic teaching hospital (ALKH) after booking—including at external ALKHs and abroad.
Withdrawal from the PJ
If you withdraw from the PJ before the end of the booking period, simply log out of the PJ portal and re-register for the next available cohort. Please clarify any questions regarding the associated leave of absence with the Admissions Office. Withdrawal after the PJ has begun can only be requested in exceptional cases and requires a plausible justification with supporting documentation submitted to the PJ management. See Interruption
S
Pregnancy
During the PJ, you are subject to the respective hygiene and other regulations of the respective booked ALKH. See Maternity Leave; See Interruption
Splitting
In principle, studying abroad is also possible within the framework of clinical rotation mobility, provided that the nationally valid rotation periods are observed. So-called “abroad splitting” of 8 weeks is only permitted in combination with 8 additional weeks here at your home university or at 2 hospitals in the same foreign country. You must submit applications independently. After acceptance, you must enter the “splitting abroad” details in the PJ portal, including 1. First half of splitting / 2. Second half of splitting, as well as the country and hospital. See Abroad
Other (PJ) Documents
Please feel free to contact the PJ Management if you need additional PJ documents, such as the following:
- Application for registration,
- Elective application forms
- external acceptance letters
- Semester ticket reimbursements
- …
See Learning Agreements, Letter of Reference, and Letter of Recommendation
Radiation protection number
Please have your lifetime radiation protection ID ready for the required courses at the start of your clinical rotation.
P
Part-time
Before the clinical rotation begins, you must decide whether—if not full-time—to complete the clinical rotation on a 50% or 75% part-time basis. This choice must be indicated in the clinical rotation portal. See Absences
Tertial
The clinical internship is divided into three sections/tertiary rotations of
- 16 weeks of surgery
- 16 weeks of internal medicine
- 16 weeks in one of the remaining clinical specialties
The nationally standardized rotation dates must be strictly adhered to. See schedules
U
UKD
Dresden University Hospital is the largest academic teaching hospital of the MFD; further information on the PJ there can be found on the PJ Portal.
Interruption / Leave
An interruption of the clinical internship beyond the permitted absences is permitted only in justified exceptional cases. Such cases include, for example, pregnancy or periods of illness lasting longer than 30 days. Appropriate documentation (in the case of illness, a doctor’s note with a diagnosis; in the case of pregnancy or child-rearing, a copy of the maternity record or the child’s birth certificate) must be submitted. In any case, the (countable) period must not be less than 8 weeks and must not have occurred more than two years ago. Whether a corresponding exceptional case exists should always be clarified with the State Examination Office. The interruption must be requested promptly from the State Examination Office (informal request) and also reported to the PJ Management; the LPA interruption approval must be submitted along with the request. See Absences
Examination
Vacation during the PJ
See Absences
V
Compensation
See Expense Reimbursement
Insurance
Accident insurance
PJ students are directly integrated into the operational processes of the training facility (academic teaching hospital). With regard to the nature, location, and working hours of the activities to be performed, they are subject to the right of instruction and direction of the host institution. They thus meet the requirements for insurance coverage as employees within the meaning of Section 2(1)(1)(8)(c) of SGB VII and must be reported to the competent accident insurance provider of the host institution. Accident insurance coverage is provided there.
Liability Insurance
During their training at the hospital, in a teaching hospital, or in a teaching practice, (PJ) students are, pursuant to § 3 (4) sentence 3 of the ÄApprO, under the guidance, supervision, and responsibility of the respective training physician. The institution ensures the continuous guidance and supervision of the students. However, there are borderline cases in which students are personally liable for some of their actions and may be required to pay damages. Students are therefore advised to take out liability insurance that covers the risks associated with medical school and, if applicable, grossly negligent behavior.
Insurance for Clinical Rotation Abroad
Students are not covered by accident and liability insurance through the TUD Dresden University of Technology during their clinical rotation abroad. We recommend that students inquire locally at the respective medical institution about legal regulations and insurance coverage. It is advisable to privately take out appropriate professional liability and accident insurance with sufficient coverage (for abroad).
Full-time
See working hours
Prerequisite
After successfully passing the second section of the medical examination (M2), the third stage of your medical studies begins: the practical year.
See Registration
W
Elective Courses
You can find the list of elective courses approved by the MFD for the practical year in the PJ elective course list
see teaching clinics
Re-entry
In the event of PJ interruptions—beyond the usual absences—the PJ management will organize your reintegration as soon as possible at the next available tertial start date based on the LPA interruption approval.
Repetition
In exceptional cases, a repeat of the PJ is required; separate agreements will be made between LPA Saxony and the PJ management.
Z
Certificates
A copy of the M2 certificate must be submitted via email to the PJ management no later than the start of the PJ.
Confirmations
MFD clinical internship students do not receive a separate letter of acceptance after booking via the clinical internship portal; however, they can download a booking confirmation from the portal.
PJ students with external rotations at universities not participating in the PJ portal process require a letter of acceptance in addition to booking via the PJ portal; this must be reviewed by the MFD PJ Management and submitted for confirmation and signature.