Learn Hardcore German: In ihrem Praktikum ist sie für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich. - In her internship she is responsible for admitting patients.

In German, in can use:
- dative = location (where?): in ihrem Praktikum – in her internship (state/place)
- accusative = movement (into where?): ins Praktikum gehen – to go into the internship

In this sentence we’re talking about a situation within the internship (a location/state), not about moving into it. So Praktikum must be in the dative: (in) dem Praktikum.

With the possessive pronoun ihr- (her), dative neuter requires the ending -em:

ihr
- -em → ihrem Praktikum

So in ihrem Praktikum is in + dative and therefore correct; in ihr Praktikum (accusative) would be wrong here.

What gender is Praktikum, and how does that affect ihrem?

Praktikum is neuter in German: das Praktikum.

Case forms of das Praktikum (singular) are:

Nominative: das Praktikum
Accusative: das Praktikum
Dative: dem Praktikum
Genitive: des Praktikums

We need the dative because of in (location), so the article would be dem Praktikum.

Now replace dem with a possessive:

Possessive stem for her is ihr-
Neuter dative ending is -em

So:

ihr + -em → ihrem Praktikum

That’s why you see in ihrem Praktikum: neuter noun + dative case + possessive pronoun with the dative ending.

What exactly does ihrem mean here? Could it also mean their?

Yes, ihrem is ambiguous in isolation. It can mean:

her (dative singular, referring to sie = she)
their (dative singular or plural, referring to sie = they)
your (formal, referring to Sie = you-formal)

In this sentence, context tells you it’s her internship:

In ihrem Praktikum ist sie …
→ We have sie (she) as the subject, so ihrem naturally refers back to that person: her internship.

Grammatically, ihrem is:

possessive pronoun ihr-
dative singular (for masculine or neuter nouns)
here used with the neuter noun Praktikum

Why does the sentence start with In ihrem Praktikum instead of Sie?

German word order is flexible in what can come first in a main clause. You can put different elements at the beginning for emphasis or structure.

Sie ist in ihrem Praktikum für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.
– neutral order: subject first.
In ihrem Praktikum ist sie für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.
– starts with the context (during her internship), a bit like English: – “During her internship, she is responsible for patient admission.”

By putting In ihrem Praktikum at the start, the speaker highlights the situation/context (the internship) rather than she as a person. Both are correct; it’s a matter of emphasis and style.

If the sentence starts with In ihrem Praktikum, why does ist come next and sie comes after the verb?

Because of the verb-second rule (V2) in German main clauses:

The conjugated verb must be in second position.
Position here means second element/phrase, not “second word”.

In the sentence:

Element 1: In ihrem Praktikum (one prepositional phrase)
Element 2: ist (the conjugated verb)
Element 3: sie (the subject)
Then the rest: für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich

So:

In ihrem Praktikum (1) ist (2) sie (3) …

If you start with Sie, it’s still V2:

Sie (1) ist (2) in ihrem Praktikum …

The subject and other elements can move, but the finite verb stays in second position.

Can I also say Sie ist in ihrem Praktikum für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich? Is there any difference in meaning?

Yes, you can, and it’s very natural.

Sie ist in ihrem Praktikum für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.
– neutral word order, starting with the subject.
In ihrem Praktikum ist sie für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.
– more emphasis on the context (“during her internship”).

The core meaning is the same: she is responsible for the patient admission during her internship. The difference is just what is highlighted:

Starting with Sie: slight focus on her.
Starting with In ihrem Praktikum: slight focus on when/where this responsibility applies.

Why is it für die Patientenaufnahme and not für der Patientenaufnahme or für den Patientenaufnahme?

Because für always takes the accusative case in German.

Patientenaufnahme is a feminine noun:

Nominative: die Patientenaufnahme
Accusative: die Patientenaufnahme
Dative: der Patientenaufnahme
Genitive: der Patientenaufnahme

Preposition:

für
- accusative → we must use the accusative form.

For feminine singular, nominative and accusative are both die, so:

Correct: für die Patientenaufnahme (accusative)
Wrong: für der Patientenaufnahme (dative)
Wrong: für den Patientenaufnahme (mixed wrong gender/case)

So the combination für + die (Akk.) is exactly right here.

Is Patientenaufnahme singular or plural, and what does it literally mean?

Patientenaufnahme here is singular, even though it contains Patienten, which looks plural.

die Patientenaufnahme = one department/process/unit called patient admission(s).

It’s a compound noun:

Patienten – patients (plural form used as a linking element)
Aufnahme – taking in, admission, intake, reception

Literally something like:

“taking in of patients” → the admission of patients.

In practice, die Patientenaufnahme refers to:

the admissions desk
the admissions department
the process of admitting patients to a hospital/clinic.

The plural of the compound would be:

die Patientenaufnahmen (admission processes / departments).

Why is verantwortlich at the end of the sentence? What kind of word is it?

verantwortlich is an adjective used as a predicate adjective (like English responsible in “She is responsible.”).

German often places the predicate adjective toward the end of the clause, after other complements:

Sie ist verantwortlich.
Sie ist für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.

As the sentence gets more elements, they tend to come before the adjective:

In ihrem Praktikum – context
für die Patientenaufnahme – prepositional phrase linked to the adjective
verantwortlich – the adjective completing ist

German main clauses often feel like this: [stuff] + verb in 2nd position + [more stuff] + main “meaning word” at the end. Here, the “meaning word” is the adjective verantwortlich.

What’s the difference between verantwortlich für and zuständig für? Could I use zuständig here instead?

You could say either:

Sie ist für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.
Sie ist für die Patientenaufnahme zuständig.

Both are correct and common. The nuance:

verantwortlich für – responsible for; stronger sense of accountability; she is the person answerable if something goes wrong.
zuständig für – in charge of / in charge with; emphasizes assignment of duties or area of competence, often more neutral/administrative.

In many job descriptions or internship contexts they overlap a lot, so switching verantwortlich to zuständig here would not change the meaning much:

In ihrem Praktikum ist sie für die Patientenaufnahme zuständig.
– perfectly fine.

Could I say Im Praktikum ist sie für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich instead of In ihrem Praktikum? Does that change the meaning?

Yes:

Im Praktikum ist sie für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.

Here, im = in dem (dative: in + dem → im).

Differences:

In ihrem Praktikum …
– clearly her specific internship.
Im Praktikum …
– more general: (during) the internship or (during) internships in general.
Often understood as “when she is doing an internship”.

In a clear context, im Praktikum can still mean during her internship, just less explicitly personal than in ihrem Praktikum. Grammatically, both use the dative after in (location).

What case is sie in this sentence, and does moving it change the case?

Here, sie is nominative singular, functioning as the subject:

In ihrem Praktikum ist sie für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.
Sie ist in ihrem Praktikum für die Patientenaufnahme verantwortlich.

In both versions:

sie = she (nominative subject).

Moving sie to a different position in the sentence does not change its case. Case in German is signaled mainly by:

pronoun form (sie vs. ihr vs. ihr/ihm/etc.)
articles and endings (die/der/den/dem, -em, -en, -er, etc.)

As long as sie is the subject and stands before the verb in its clause (in normal main clauses), it stays nominative.