German for Nursing & Medicine: Vocabulary, Case Studies, Tips

• SLA Basel
• 28 Nov 2025
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German for Nursing & Medicine: Vocabulary, Case Studies, Tips

German for Care: Guide for Communication & Exams

As is well known, anyone working in healthcare needs more than just „everyday language“: after all, this is primarily about precise understanding, confident phrasing and empathetic communication. Often, this even has to happen under time pressure. In this article, you will receive a practical guide to German for nursing care.

These are primarily key vocabulary, dialogue patterns, documentation language, legal basics and concrete practice formats for telc Nursing, the language proficiency exam & everyday hospital life.

Healthcare personnel should be able to clearly name symptoms, findings and measures, and conduct structured conversations with patients. Furthermore, they must complete handovers and documentation using correct technical terminology. To achieve these learning objectives, they need to prepare for assessments in a targeted manner.

Language levels & exams (A2–C1, telc, FSP)

For safe and professional work, staff need strong language skills in addition to practical knowledge. Depending on the language level and exam, the requirements change significantly. This makes good German for care and medicine all the more important. Below, you will find out what competencies are expected at levels A2 to C1 and how you can prepare for them effectively.

• A2–B1: Basic everyday language and simple professional situations, e.g., registering patients, taking a basic medical history.
• B1/B2 Nursing (telc): Secure communication with patients, structured handovers, correct documentation and a basic understanding of cases.
• C1 Medical German / Professional Language Examination (FSP for Doctors): Detailed medical history taking, medical consenting, drafting the discharge summary, and using technical terms precisely and correctly.

Tip:
Plan your learning process using real tasks.
For example: „Safe handovers with SBAR in 4 weeks“ or „Medical history taking in 5 minutes with guiding questions“.

 

Key vocabulary (selection)

To accurately record symptoms, precisely describe findings and communicate clearly with colleagues, a secure vocabulary is crucial in everyday medical work. The following key vocabulary offers a selection of important terms from anatomy, symptomatology and common assessment scales. These are needed daily in clinical and nursing operations.

Anatomy & Symptoms

• Regions: Thorax, Abdomen, lumbar spine, cervical spine
• Symptoms: sharp/pulling pain, nausea, dizziness, tingling, shortness of breath, chills
• Scales: Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Braden, Glasgow Coma Scale

Diagnosis, therapy & medication

• Diagnosis: blood draw, full blood count, urine dipstick, ultrasound, CT/MRI
• Therapy: Connecting an infusion, administering medication, wound care, mobilisation
• Medication: s.c./i.v./p.o., as-required medication, drug interaction, side effect, contraindication

Nursing procedures & supplies

• Measures: Positioning (30°/90°), aspiration prophylaxis, thrombosis prophylaxis
• Material Cannula, dressing, plaster, catheter, blood pressure cuff

Abbreviations in everyday life

• ø (none), RR (Blood pressure), BZ Blood sugar, as required. if required, n.v. (not available)

Patient communication

Good communication makes many things easier, both for patients and for the staff themselves. With clear questions, simple explanations and a little empathy, complaints can be quickly understood and misunderstandings avoided. The following examples show how this can be achieved in everyday work.

Medical history taking with guide (short & clear)

1. Open: „What brings you to us?“
2. Symptom: „Where exactly does it hurt? Since when? How severe is it (0–10)?“
3. Concomitant factors: „What does it improve/make worse?“
4. Risk factors/medication/allergies: „What medication? Allergies?“
5. Summarise: „I have understood: … Is that correct?“

Mini-dialogue:
P „I am short of breath.“
F: „Since when? When walking or also at rest?“
P „Since yesterday, especially when going upstairs.“
F: „How strong on a scale from 0 to 10?“
P „A 7.“
F (Summary): „Shortness of breath since yesterday, exertion-dependent, severity 7. I am going to listen to your chest now.“

Clear information and consent

• Translate technical jargon into everyday language:
  „We are going to carry out an ultrasound scan. This is a recording using sound waves, and there is no exposure to radiation.“

Empathy & De-escalation

• Active listening: „I see that worries you.“
• I-message + offer: „I'll explain every step to you. Please let me know immediately if anything becomes uncomfortable.“

Team and station communication

Handovers with SBAR (example)

• S – Situation: „Mr Müller, 68, new to the ward since 10:00, breathlessness.“
• B – Background: „COPD, ex-smoker, last exacerbation 6 months ago.“
• A – Assessment: „AF 24, SpO₂ 90, % ambient air, expiratory wheezing.“
• R – Recommendation: „Check oxygen administration, prescribe bronchodilator? Recheck in 30 mins.“

Telephone calls & queries

• ISBAR use and ReinsuranceDid I understand correctly that...?„

Documentation & Law

Clear and accurate documentation is hugely important in everyday nursing and clinical practice. It ensures that everyone in the team knows what has happened, how the patient is, and which measures have already been carried out.

Nursing documentation and medical letter

Document objectively, completely and as promptly as possible: vital signs, interventions performed, effects or side effects, and direct quotes from the patients (in quotation marks).

Example:
„11:10: Blood glucose 178 mg/dl, 10 g glucose orally, 11:30 blood glucose 132 mg/dl, patient reports ‚dizziness gone‘.“

 

Data Protection & Consent

• Only necessary data, no corridor conversations, Observe access rights.
• Legal terminology concise: „Written consent has been obtained. / Patient has capacity to consent.“

Emergencies & Algorithms

In emergencies, every second counts. Clear procedures help to ensure correct action. Standardised algorithms such as ABCDE and clear team communication ensure that all steps are carried out quickly, safely and transparently.

• ABCDE: Airway – Breathing – Circulation – Disability – Exposure.
• Code Blueclear call, assign roles, closed communication loops („repeat-back“).
• Standard phrases: „Airway clear/blocked“, „Spontaneous breathing present/absent“, „Circulation stable/unstable“.

Intercultural aspects

In healthcare we encounter people with very diverse cultural backgrounds. Open, respectful communication helps to avoid misunderstandings and build trust.

• Simple, respectful, without slang: „May I address you informally, or would you prefer to be addressed formally?‚
• Religious/ethical needs enquire about (diet, privacy, gender of the carer).
• Interpreting services use in a targeted manner; relatives not as a standard interpreter.

Exam preparation (telc Nursing / FSP)

Thorough preparation makes the ‘Better German for Nursing and Medicine’ exams much easier. If you know what types of questions to expect in the ‘Better German for Nursing and Medicine’ exams and how to practise effectively, your chances of passing with confidence will increase.

Types of questions:

• telc Care: Consultation with the patient, passing on information, documentation.
• FSP (doctors): Medical history, patient information, consultation between doctors, documentation.

Strategy:

• Speech framework memorise (anamnesis guideline, SBAR).
• Case files (e.g. „shortness of breath“, „abdominal pain“) – practise these phrases in turn and out loud.
• Peer feedback with checklists (content + language).

Study plan & exercises (4 weeks, example)

Week 1: Foundation

• 20 minutes a day. Spaced Repetition: Symptoms, actions, abbreviations
• 3 times a week Shadowing featuring health podcasts (5–7 mins)
• 2 dialogues: „Brief medical history“
  

Week 2: Communication

• 1 per day Role-play (Patient ↔ Professional)
• 3 handovers SBAR (record & listen, self-feedback)
  

Week 3: Documentation & Examination Format

• 1 per day Documentation exercise (brief course, effect/side effects)
• 3 complete Practice exams (Time limit!)
  

Week 4: Finishing touches

• actively use target dictionary (100 core terms)
• List of strengths and weaknesses → targeted revision
• Dress rehearsal with external feedback

Vocational language course in Basel: German for nursing and medicine

For anyone wishing to improve their German specifically for the care and medical sectors, the SLA Basel specialised Occupational language courses . These language courses for German, English, French and Italian are aimed at nursing staff, medical personnel and trainee doctors who wish to communicate confidently in everyday clinical practice and pass examinations such as the telc Nursing exam or the specialist language exam.

Through practical exercises, realistic dialogues, documentation training and clear speech patterns, SLA Basel helps participants to handle professional situations with confidence and build their linguistic confidence step by step. This is essential for a good command of German in the care and medical sectors. Our partners include, amongst others, the Tutor Academy.

Sample dialogues & case studies

A&E: Acute abdominal pain

• F: „"Where exactly does it hurt?"“
• P „Bottom right.“
• F: „Since when and how severely (0–10)?“
• P „Since early this morning, force 6.“
• F: „Nausea, fever, vomiting?“
• P „Nausea yes, no vomiting.“
• F (Summary): „Right lower abdomen, started today, severity 6, nausea. We’ll take a blood sample and carry out an ultrasound scan.“

German for Care and Medicine in Care Homes: Fall Prevention

• F: „I'll place the walking frame closer to the bed and make sure the mat is secure. Please call me before you get up.“
• Documentary: „Walking aid placed within reach, patient instructed, Morse fall risk 55 – measures intensified.“

Resources & Glossary (selection)

• Checklists: Medical history (SOCRATES for pain), SBAR/ISBAR
• Audio exercises: Shadowing short clinical dialogues
• Glossary Home (Mini):
  • Shortness of breath (dyspnoea): difficulty breathing
  • Giemen: a whistling sound when breathing out
  • Medical history: systematic taking of the patient’s medical history
  • Consent: Informed consent
    Medication as and when required: Medicines that are only given when needed

Secure professional communication is achieved through clear structures, active practice and targeted vocabulary training, such as through "Sicherer Deutsch für Pflege und Medizin". Use guidelines (anamnesis, SBAR), document objectively and practise realistic cases out loud. Ideally with feedback. This is how you will become linguistically confident in everyday nursing and clinical work and pass exams with a plan.