The Physikum is the everyday name for the First Section of the Medical Licensing Examination (M1) in Germany. You sit it after the fourth semester, it has a written and an oral-practical part, and it closes off your pre-clinical training.
from Latin physicus = relating to nature
First Section of the Medical Licensing Examination, M1
first state examination in medicine
The Physikum marks the end of the pre-clinical years. It covers anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, physics, chemistry, biology as well as medical psychology and sociology.
Many European universities have no Physikum as a single bundled examination. Instead you are examined subject by subject in colloquia and oral exams, which spreads the material across the semesters. If you have failed definitively and want to continue your studies abroad, the guide Compulsory deregistration from medical school sets out your options.
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