Core Competencies for Medical Teachers (KLM)--A Position Paper of the GMA Committee on Personal and Organizational Development in Teaching.

Recent developments in medical education have created increasing challenges for medical teachers which is why the majority of German medical schools already offer educational and instructional skills trainings for their teaching staff. However, to date no framework for educational core competencies for medical teachers exists that might serve as guidance for the qualification of the teaching faculty. Against the background of the discussion about competency based medical education and based upon the international literature, the GMA Committee for Faculty and Organizational Development in Teaching developed a model of core teaching competencies for medical teachers. This framework is designed not only to provide guidance with regard to individual qualification profiles but also to support further advancement of the content, training formats and evaluation of faculty development initiatives and thus, to establish uniform quality criteria for such initiatives in German-speaking medical schools. The model comprises a framework of six competency fields, subdivided into competency components and learning objectives. Additional examples of their use in medical teaching scenarios illustrate and clarify each specific teaching competency. The model has been designed for routine application in medical schools and is thought to be complemented consecutively by additional competencies for teachers with special duties and responsibilities in a future step.

Cognitive problem solving patterns of medical students correlate with success in diagnostic case solutions.

CONTEXT: Problem-solving in terms of clinical reasoning is regarded as a key competence of medical doctors. Little is known about the general cognitive actions underlying the strategies of problem-solving among medical students. In this study, a theory-based model was used and adapted in order to investigate the cognitive actions in which medical students are engaged when dealing with a case and how patterns of these actions are related to the correct solution. METHODS: Twenty-three medical students worked on three cases on clinical nephrology using the think-aloud method. The transcribed recordings were coded using a theory-based model consisting of eight different cognitive actions. The coded data was analysed using time sequences in a graphical representation software. Furthermore the relationship between the coded data and accuracy of diagnosis was investigated with inferential statistical methods. RESULTS: The observation of all main actions in a case elaboration, including evaluation, representation and integration, was considered a complete model and was found in the majority of cases (56%). This pattern significantly related to the accuracy of the case solution (φ = 0.55; p<.001). Extent of prior knowledge was neither related to the complete model nor to the correct solution. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed model is suitable to empirically verify the cognitive actions of problem-solving of medical students. The cognitive actions evaluation, representation and integration are crucial for the complete model and therefore for the accuracy of the solution. The educational implication which may be drawn from this study is to foster students reasoning by focusing on higher level reasoning.