Predicting Actual Social Skill Expression from Personality and Skill Self-Concepts.

Social skills are of key importance in everyday and work life. However, the way in which they are typically assessed via self-report questionnaires has one potential downside; self-reports assess individuals' global self-concepts, which do not necessarily reflect individuals' actual social behaviors. In this research, we aimed to investigate how self-concepts assessed via questionnaires relate to skill expression assessed via behavioral observations after short interpersonal simulations. For this, we used an alternative behavior-based skill assessment approach designed to capture expressions of predefined social skills. Self- and observer ratings were collected to assess three different social skills: agency (i.e., getting ahead in social situations), communion (i.e., getting along in social situations), and interpersonal resilience (i.e., staying calm in social situations). We explored how these skills were related to self-concepts by differentiating between a classic personality measure (i.e., Big Five Inventory 2; BFI-2) and a novel skill questionnaire (i.e., Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Skills Inventory; BESSI). The results (N = 137) showed that both personality and skill self-concepts predicted self-rated skill expression, with the BESSI showing incremental validity. For both personality and skills self-concepts, the relationships with observer-rated skill expression were significant for agency but not for communion or interpersonal resilience. We discuss these results and highlight the theoretical and practical importance of differentiating between skill self-concepts and actual skill expression.

A project report on the switch from in-class to online tuition in the preparatory course for the knowledge examination for foreign physicians - guidelines for the organization of the online summer semester 2020 at the faculty of medicine of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität of Münster.

Introduction: In Germany, foreign physicians are a fixed component of the medical profession. According to the German Medical Licensure Act, physicians having completed their qualification in another country are required to pass a knowledge examination which falls within the competence of examination offices or the regional governments. Project outline: The preparatory course consists of 10 modules. On Fridays, individual cases are discussed in small groups and specific examination techniques are trained. On Saturdays, illnesses are simulated by simulated patients. After each encounter, faculty experts, psychologists and peer group members provide the participants with 360° feedback. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the course which had been established 2 years beforehand has now been switched to an online class within one week. Friday units were visualized in power-point presentations and tutorial videos were discussed. On Saturdays, the cases were simulated by simulated patients and transmitted via a telemedicine platform. Results: The course could be conducted without interruptions (75 hours of in-class tuition and 75 hours of online tuition). In the oral evaluation the participants criticized telemedicine as a medium for imparting of practical skills. 7/22 (32%) of the participants underwent the knowledge examination and 6/7 (86%) of them passed it (versus 18/19 of the participants of in-class tuition (95%)). Discussion: There was a clear preference for in-class tuition. It was noted that the telemedical setting entailed some restrictions. However, the switch to online classes did not affect the pass rate. Conclusion: The switch from in-class to online units was feasible. The gained insights were taken into account when conceiving the online semester at our faculty and especially the tuition with the support of simulated patients.

Medical education too: sexual harassment within the educational context of medicine - insights of undergraduates.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of the presence and characteristics of sexual harassment in academic medicine is a global issue. Only limited international data are available so far. METHODS: Aim: To assess the extent of sexual harassment and identify the perpetrators in the student population of the medical school of Münster, Germany. A survey was undertaken, using the Medical Women's International Association sexual harassment questionnaire translated into German. The anonymous online questionnaire was sent as a link to all medical undergraduates at Münster Medical School via a mailing list between 1 October and 30 November 2018. Identifying or potentially identifying data were not collected. Data were analysed by descriptive statistical methods such as categorical variables. Baseline characteristics, e.g. answers by male or female medical students, were correlated with their individual sexual harassment experiences and perpetrator groups by means of univariate analysis. RESULTS: A total of 2162 medical students were asked to participate, with 623 (28.8%) completing the survey. Sexual harassment is a significant issue among medical students at Münster Medical School with over half (58.9%) of all undergraduates being exposed to sexually harassing behaviour. In total, 31.8% of all participants reported having experienced unwanted physical sexual contact such as unwanted physical touching, with 87.6% of the victims being female. Overall, 41.3% personally experienced verbal sexual harassment of which 87.4% were female. Furthermore, 8.5% of undergraduates faced forced sexual contact such as oral, anal or vaginal penetration, intercourse and rape, with all victims being female. Perpetrators in these cases were mostly male medical superiors (7.0%) and male patients (18.3%). In general, most perpetrators were patients, followed by medical superiors and educators, and less frequently by colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual harassment in medical education and the medical workplace is a significant problem in a German medical school. Most students experiencing sexual harassment are females. Female students also experience the more serious forms of sexual harassment more often.

[Evaluation of the clinical course Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy employing standardized patients]. / Evaluation des Praktikums " Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie" mit standardisierten Patienten.

OBJECTIVE: Since the Winter Term 2008/2009 the Medical School of the University of Muenster, Germany, has used standardized patients in the clinical course Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy with fourth-year undergraduate students performing bio-psycho-social anamnesis on these standardized patients. We wanted to evaluate the influence of the course on the empathy of the students. METHODS: A total of 107 students participated in the standardized patient program during the Winter Term 2009/2010, with 90 (84.1 %) completing the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy before and after the course. In addition, we conducted a standard evaluation of the medical faculty. RESULTS: The pre-post comparison revealed a significant increase in empathy (d = 0.331, p = .001). The standard evaluation yielded a high satisfaction among the course participants, though several students did assess the course critically. CONCLUSION: The implementation of a standardized patient program in psychosomatics and psychotherapy proved to be of value, since it increased empathy of the students and received a positive evaluation. To prevent the students from being humiliated, it is of particular importance to implement a gentle and tactful feedback.

[Implementation of psychosocial care in pediatric cardiology. Results of a national survey]. / Etablierung psycho-sozialer Versorgung in der Pädiatrischen Kardiologie. Ergebnisse einer bundesweiten Befragung.

In the German health care system patient self-help groups assume growing importance. The aim of the umbrella organisation for self help groups in paediatric cardiology (Bundesverband Herzkranker Kinder e.V., BVHK) is to continuously improve comprehensive health care to children with heart diseases and their parents. One of the most important aims of the BVHK is to implement psychosocial services for inpatients. In some recent projects the BVHK has analysed the current structures of psychosocial care in German departments of paediatric cardiology. Existing structures are compared with the optimal standards of psychosocial care. Selected results of these projects are described in this article.