GMS Zeitschrift für medizinische Ausbildung
-
Comparative Study
Measurement of specific medical school stress: translation of the "Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument" to the German language.
Medical students encounter specific stressors during their studies. As a result, they develop anxiety, depression and burnout symptoms more frequently than their similarly aged, but employed counterparts. In 1984, Vitaliano et al. published a 13-item instrument for the measurement of stress specific to medical school: the "Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument" (PMSS). Since then, it has been widely applied and validated in English-speaking countries. No German version of the PMSS exists to date. Thus, our aim was to translate the instrument into the German language in order to be able to measure medical school stress in German-speaking countries. ⋯ A German version of the PMSS is now available for measuring the medical school related stress in German-speaking countries.
-
Within the Bologna reform, a longitudinal curriculum of "social and communicative competencies" (SOKO) was implemented into the new Bachelor-Master structure of undergraduate medical education in Basel (Switzerland). ⋯ In Basel, a longitudinal SOKO curriculum based on students' cumulative learning was successfully implemented. Goals and contents were coordinated with the remaining curriculum and are regularly assessed in OSCEs. At present, most of the workload rests on the shoulders of the department of psychosomatic medicine at the university hospital. For the curriculum to be successful in the long-term, sustainable structures need to be instituted at the medical faculty and the university hospital to guarantee high quality teaching and assessment.
-
The German graduate medical education system is going through an important phase of changes. Besides the ongoing reform of the national guidelines for graduate medical education (Musterweiterbildungsordnung), other factors like societal and demographic changes, health and research policy reforms also play a central role for the future and competitiveness of graduate medical education. ⋯ In this position paper, we use four key questions with regards to educational goals, quality assurance, teaching competence and policy requirements to address the core issues for the future of graduate medical education in Germany. The GMA sees its task in contributing to the necessary reform processes as the only German speaking scientific society in the field of medical education.
-
Germany is witnessing an increasing shortage of general practitioners (GPs). The aim was to determine predictors of the job-related motivation of medical students of three medical faculties with different institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline. ⋯ A high amount of medical students were open-minded towards general practice. However, they favoured employment within an organization over working in their own practice. Institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline might be of importance to gain positive attitudes towards general practice and motivate medical students to work as a GP.