The impact of the program structure at Hannover Medical School on academic success in medical studies.

Aim: The classical course structure for medicine in Germany is separated by three sections of the medical state examination. This structure is generally regarded as sensible and unchangeable. Because the special program structure at Hannover Medical School (MHH) has one integrated, rather than two separate study blocks, it is possible to examine the influence of structural modifications on the study success of different admission groups. Methods: The data was obtained from students admitted to the MHH between 2006 and 2008 in different admission quotas. Study success was defined as the successful completion of the entire program, but completion of the first section of the state examination was also analysed. Results: More students from the best "Abitur" (school leaving examinations) quota successfully completed their studies than those accepted via the selection process of the universities. The latter were more successful than students from the waiting list quota. However the successful graduates of this last group completed their studies more often within the prescribed period of study, although they needed more time for completing all parts of the first section of the state examination. Conclusion: The data shows that an integrated course structure can offer, in particular, students from the waiting list quota, the opportunity to compensate for delays in the first years of study. However, they do not provide any evidence which applicants are best suited to meet the social and professional requirements of trained doctors. Due to the complex structure of such longitudinal studies, our results allow more than one plausible interpretation.

Various Cinematic Forms of Educational Videos About the Physical Examination - Are There Differences in the Evaluation by Medical Students?

To improve medical students' competences in physical examination videos clips were created, with and without an explaining commentary. The uncommented videos show the communication and interaction between physician and patient during a physical examination, the commented videos show the single steps of the physical examination supplemented with an off-screen commentary emphasizing important facts. To investigate whether uncommented and more authentic videos are more helpful to practice a physical examination than commented videos we interviewed 133 students via online surveys. 72% of the students used the uncommented videos for practicing with others, compared to 55% using the commented videos. 37% of the students think that practical skills can be learned better with the uncommented videos. In general, 97% state that the videos helped them to improve their skills. Our findings indicate that the cinematic form of an educational video has an effect on learning behavior, learning success and didactic quality.