Specialist in Allergology and Clinical Immunology

The field of allergy and clinical immunology is concerned with researching, managing and preventing allergic diseases and disorders that involve the immune system to a greater or lesser extent and thus incorporates the practical aspects of immunotherapy and immunosuppression. Allergies, for examples respiratory allergies and food allergies, are very common and affect around a third of the population. Immunological disorders such as systemic and organ-specific autoimmune disorders and immunodeficiency in children and adults are less common, but have a serious impact on the lives of those affected. As this field of medicine is not tied specifically to a single organ it requires a holistic overview of the patient and thus close interdisciplinary collaboration between primary care providers, allergy and immunology specialists and other specialists.

The postgraduate education takes 6 years and is structured as follows:

  • 3 years basic postgraduate training (non-discipline-specific postgraduate training) in one or more of the disciplines internal medicine, paediatric and adolescent medicine, dermatology and venereology and pulmonology. Postgraduate training in the following disciplines is also recognized for a maximum of 6 months per discipline: haematology, infectious diseases, intensive and emergency medicine, cardiology, clinical pharmacology, toxicology, nephrology, occupational medicine, neurology, ENT, psychiatry and rheumatology.
  • 3 years discipline-specific postgraduate training at recognized training centres for allergy and clinical immunology. These 3 years may comprise a maximum of 12 months of research e.g. as part of an MD/PhD programme or a Postgraduate Course in Experimental Medicine with a focus on immunological laboratory work or a maximum of 6 months of fundamental research work in an immunology laboratory.

Here you can find further information:

Postgraduate training centres (information available in German and French)
Information and regulations on postgraduate training for doctors in allergy and clinical immunology (information available in German or French)
Regulation on postgraduate training (Weiterbildungsordung - WBO) (information available in German or French)
Catalogue of learning objectives (information available in German and French)
Postgraduate training program (information available in German and French)

Specialist examination