[Can Psychometric Tests Predict Success in the Selection Interview for Medical School? A Cross-Sectional Study at One German Medical School]. / Können psychometrische Tests den Erfolg im Auswahlgespräch zum Medizinstudium vorhersagen? Eine Querschnittsstudie an einer deutschen Hochschule.

Background The final exam grade is the main selection criterion for medical school application in Germany. For academic success, it seems to be a reliable predictor. Its use as the only selection criterion is, however, criticised. At some universities, personal interviews are part of the selection process. However, these are very time consuming and are of doubtful validity. The (additional) use of appropriate psychometric instruments could reduce the cost and increase the validity. This study investigates the extent to which psychometric instruments can predict the outcome of a personal selection interview. Methods This is a cross-sectional study on the correlation of the results of psychometric instruments with those of the personal selection interview as part of the application process. As the outcome, the score of the selection interview was used. The NEO - Five Factor Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the questionnaire to identify work-related behaviour and experience patterns (AVEM) were used as psychometric interviews. Results There was a statistically significant correlation with the results of the personal selection interview for the sum score of the depression scale from the HADS and the sum score for the dimension of life satisfaction of the AVEM. In addition, those participants who did not previously complete an application training achieved a better result in the selection interview. Conclusion The instruments used measure different aspects than the interviews and cannot replace them. It remains to be seen whether the selected parameters are able to predict academic success.

Perceived medical school stress and the development of behavior and experience patterns in German medical students.

BACKGROUND: Longitudinal data about the development of health risks and resources in relation to the performance of medical students are limited. AIMS: To evaluate the development of study-related experience and the correlation to performance. METHOD: Medical students in the first (2006), second (2008), and fifth years (2011) of their studies were surveyed with standard instruments for quality of life, study-related behavior and experience, perceived medical school stress, anxiety and depression, and grades in their first major exam. RESULTS: The proportion of students with a healthy behavior and experience pattern decreased from 47.3% in the first year to 36.9% in the second year and 17.6% in the fifth year. This corresponded to an increase in the proportion of students at risk for burnout (7.1% first, 20% second, 19% fifth year). Students with a healthy behavior and experience pattern scored higher in self-perceived performance (p < 0.05) and objective grades. Stress and risk for burnout were important predictors for anxiety and depression. CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in health and the increase in risk patterns indicate a need for prevention and health promotion that should not only focus on individual behavior but also address the contextual factor of study organization within medical school.

Work-related behaviour and experience pattern in nurses: impact on physical and mental health.

Nursing is associated with high levels of emotional strain and heavy workloads. Changing working conditions raise the importance of investigating job satisfaction, stress and burnout and its consequences for nurses. The aim of the study was to investigate whether work-related behaviour and experience patterns are associated with mental and physical health status in nurses. A sample of 356 nurses in four German hospitals were interviewed using questionnaires regarding work-related behaviour and experience patterns, work stress, depression, anxiety and physical symptoms ('Work-related Behaviour and Experience Pattern'--AVEM and ERI). The main result of this study is that unhealthy work-related behaviour and experience patterns (i.e. the excessive ambitious type and the resigned type) are associated with reduced mental and physical health. Preventive, as well as intervention, strategies are needed that focus both on the individual as well as on working conditions.

[Psychosomatic aspects in the treatment of the singing voice]. / Psychosomatische Aspekte bei der Behandlung der Sängerstimme.

Voice and person form a unity and consequently, psychological factors always play a role in the treatment of voice disorders, especially in the area of the arts. This fact has to be taken into account in musician's medicine and it leads to integrating psychosomatic principles within the medical consultation, such as sufficient time, open structured communication, as well as empathy in the doctor-patient relationship. Furthermore, another important aspect of the treatment of singers is the understanding, based on musical expertise, towards the emotional requirements of the profession. If there is a distinct psychological component in the voice disorder it has to be included as a cofactor in the diagnostics. In such a case, the decision of the otorhinolaryngologist should be to include the treatment of the psychological factors within the voice therapy or to initiate parallel treatment in close cooperation with a specialist in psychosomatic medicine or a clinical psychologist specialized in musician's medicine. For singers, performance anxiety represents the additional frequent diagnosis and it should also be treated in this cooperation.

[Psychosocial behaviour and subjective experience specific to the course of study of medical students in their first and fifth years of study]. / Studienbezogenes psychosoziales Verhalten und Erleben von Medizinstudenten im ersten und fünften Studienjahr.

AIM: This study concerns the evaluation of study-related psychosocial risk factors and resources in medical students at the beginning and before the end of their course of studies. METHODS: Written questionnaires were filled out by medical students in Lübeck and Freiburg in their first and fifth years of study and analysed with three standard instruments (AVEM, SAM, F-Sozu). The response rate was 84.5% (n=435) in the first and 83.0% (n=351) in the fifth year of study. RESULTS: At the outset of their course of study, most of the students evinced behaviour and subjective experience patterns which were not deleterious to their health. Nevertheless, even at this point in time, 22.9% of the students showed a risk constellation with an excessive commitment to work and readiness to overstrain themselves. With 17.9% resignatory exhaustion with a highly restrictive subjective quality of life was found. In the fifth year of study, this proportion had increased to 23.3%, while the quality of health behaviour and subjective experience patterns deteriorated. Self-awareness and social support were augmented by comparison with norm samples. CONCLUSION: A portion of the medical students showed a risk constellation in behaviour and subjective experience at the very beginning of their studies. At the end, this tendency has significantly strengthened. The integration of teaching contents dealing with health promotion and successful coping with stress for the medical students themselves would therefore seem essential for the conservation of the health and working capacity of the students, as well as in order to prevent subsequent profession-specific mental stress and burn-out.