GMS Journal for Medical Education最新文献

Objectives: In the early phase of their studies, students are confronted with a number of teaching and learning methods they are usually not familiar with. Beyond, learning in a university environment requires a high degree of self-organization. Thus, the transition from learning in a school environment to university can be challenging for students and associated with adjustment difficulties. We hypothesized that synchronous online lecturing might be able to serve as a thematic superstructure and a curricular guide that can positively influence course perception, motivation and exam outcome.

Methods: We investigated this hypothesis in a retrospective approach by comparing results from histology exams (2020 n=411, 2021 n= 423) and questionnaires for course evaluation received from medical and dentistry second semester students of the RWTH Aachen University, Germany, in 2020 (n=113 questionnaire participants) and 2021 (n=106 questionnaire participants). While in 2020, due to the Corona Pandemic, no synchronous online lectures were held, these were reintroduced in 2021.

Results: Our results show several differences in between the two study cohorts. Most important findings include a significantly (p<0.001) lower number of students that failed to pass or withdrew from the exam in 2021, an increased motivation to deal with the learning content (p<0.001) and a higher perceived quality of the study materials (p<0.001) in 2021.

Conclusion: Our study indicates that synchronous online lectures can be an important tool to help students to accustom to new learning environments and to structure private study. Further studies will now have to show whether live (online) lectures can have the same significance during clinical training.

Objective: Against the backdrop of considerable lack of research, this study provides the first exploration of medical students' perspectives on racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany. The aim is to identify problems and learning needs for medical education. We address the following research questions: - How do medical students perceive racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany? - How do they address, understand, and discuss different aspects of racism in this context? - What are their expectations regarding the role of medical education?

Methods: Semi-structured online focus group discussions were conducted with 32 medical students from 13 different medical schools in Germany. The discussions were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: Based on the analysis of the focus groups, four main hypotheses could be formulated: 1. Medical students perceive racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany as a ubiquitous phenomenon. 2. They have problems to identify racist behaviour and structures due to conceptual knowledge gaps. 3. They are insecure how to deal with racism on a situational level. 4. They hold medical education accountable to tackle racism in medicine and healthcare on various levels.

Conclusion: Our study raises specific learning needs for addressing racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany. Research from the US-context might inspire innovative approaches for German medical education but needs to take national specificities into account. Further research is needed to prepare the implementation of antiracist training in German medical education.

Aim: Interprofessional collaboration is particularly relevant to patient safety in outpatient care with polypharmacy. The educational project "PILLE" is meant to give medical and pharmacy students an understanding of the roles and competencies needed for cooperation in the provision of healthcare and to enable interprofessional learning.

Method: The curriculum is aimed at pharmacy and medical students and was developed in six steps according to the Kern cycle. It is comprised of an interprofessional seminar, a joint practical training in a simulated pharmacy, and a tandem job shadowing at a primary care practice. The project was implemented in three stages due to the pandemic: The interprofessional online seminar based on the ICAP model and the digital inverted classroom was held in the 2020 winter semester; the interprofessional practical training was added in the 2021 summer semester; and the interprofessional tandem job shadowing at a primary care practice in the 2021 winter semester. Attitudes toward interprofessional learning, among other things, was measured in the evaluation using the SPICE-2D questionnaire (Student Perceptions of Physician-Pharmacist Interprofessional Clinical Education).

Results: In the first three semesters, a total of 105 students (46 pharmacy, 59 medicine) participated in the project, of which 78 participated in the evaluation (74% response rate). The students stated, in particular, that they had learned about the competencies and roles of the other profession and desired additional and more specific preparatory materials for the course sessions. The SPICE-2D questionnaire showed high values for both groups of students already in the pre-survey and these increased further as a result of the project.

Conclusion: Joint case-based learning could be implemented under the conditions imposed by the pandemic. Online teaching is a low-threshold means to enable interprofessional exchange.

Aim: A course on sexual anamnesis based on peer teaching was developed, piloted, and evaluated at the medical school of the University of Würzburg. The course is part of the expansion of the communication curriculum and in order to close existing gaps in medical education. An implementation of the course in the curriculum is meant to give all students the opportunity to acquire professional skills in this area.

Method: The course consists of knowledge transfer, interactive exercises, role plays with structured feedback, and an exchange with practitioners. A standardized online evaluation of the course took place in regard to teaching quality, subjective learning success, and acceptance. The voluntary course was conducted online in the summer semester of 2021 and in person in the winter semester of 2021/22. A total of 68 students participated. The training of the tutors was realized in cooperation with the "Deutsche Aidshilfe" (DAH).

Results: The course was successfully conducted online and in person. A total of 60 students participated in the evaluation. More than 80% of the students rated the course as structured. They assessed an adequate mix of knowledge transfer and practical exercises. More than half of the students reported that they were more confident in performing sexual anamnesis after they participated in the course. There was an open exchange among the students. More than 90% of the students found the peer teaching by the tutors helpful.

Conclusion: The implementation of the course closes a relevant gap of the curriculum in Würzburg. Sexual anamnesis will be a regular part of the curriculum starting in the winter semester 2022/23. The concept can also be transferred to other universities.

Objective: Final-year training is becoming increasingly important in medical studies and requires a high degree of personal responsibility from students. It is the task of supervising physicians to make informal learning opportunities available to students when working with and on patients and to gradually transfer responsibility to them. Both students and physicians have a great need for information regarding the contextual conditions and didactic realization of this transfer of responsibility. Up to now, the faculties have only provided information and support in a sporadic manner and with little standardization. With MERLIN, the joint project undertaken by the Competence Network for Teaching Medicine in Baden-Württemberg, a platform for the final year was developed and released on the web. The aim was to bundle information in order to support students and supervising physicians in their teaching-learning process and to improve the quality of teaching in the final year.

Project description: The development process of this platform took place in several steps across all faculties. Content and materials were compiled and structured based on a needs assessment. The first draft was evaluated by means of a simulation by students and then revised. A professional internet agency was involved for the technical implementation. The newly designed website PJ-input ("PJ" being the abbreviation for "Praktisches Jahr", the final year) contains areas for students and supervising physicians, as well as faculty-specific and general information about the final year. Faculty-specific content can be entered directly by the respective staff via an input mask and updated at any time. The provision of didactic materials can support competency-oriented teaching and learning in the final year. Here, for example, the concept of the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) was taken up, which gives students and supervising physicians orientation for the gradual assumption or transfer of responsibility. The platform was launched in spring 2021. Usage behavior is continuously recorded via the web application.

Results and conclusion: The evaluation results show that the website is visited often and perceived as supportive. Increasing usage figures and the high frequency of use by students in the sections "im PJ" (during the final year) and "nach dem PJ" (after the final year) for the faculties involved in the MERLIN project confirm the target group-oriented design and use. The site should be promoted even more to pre-final-year students, as well as across state borders and to the target group of faculties. It is expected that nationwide faculty participation will make a significant contribution to the competency-based shift in teaching and the standardization of training during the final year of study under the new licensing regulations.