Perception, experience and use of moments of change - a qualitative investigation.

Objectives: In psychotherapeutic change processes, in addition to gradual changes, specific single special moments are described as a starting point for change. We investigated the perception of these moments of change (CMs) from the patient's perspective: What does each patient perceive and experience in a CM? Methods: A qualitative, explorative study of CMs was conducted by means of semi-structured questionnaires as well as qualitative interviews with patients (n = 12). Grounded theory was used for the analysis. Results: CMs were noticed by an "explicit mode of perception" based on physical, emotional and cognitive aspects. In addition, we found a "transcending mode of experience" that involved changes in consciousness and self-experience. CMs showed a "specific transformative pattern" and were preserved as "experience anchors". Conclusions: The intensification of consciousness, transformation of self-experience, and intense prototypical experience of a change process appeared particularly impressive. With the help of CMs, access could be gained to an embodied and implicit experience, which could subsequently be symbolised and used as an "experience anchor". This could be useful especially for the treatment of psychosomatic patients.

Mindset and Reflection-How to Sustainably Improve Intra- and Interpersonal Competences in Medical Education.

Intra- and interpersonal competences (IICs) are essential for medical expertise. However, the effects of current medical curricula seem to not be sustainable enough, even though poorly trained IICs have negative effects on medical practice. A defensive attitude towards openly addressing personal-professional challenges seems to hinder a sustainable implementation of IICs training. Therefore, this study asks about the changeability of IICs and target factors of their implementation in medical education. The aim was to detect factors for the sustainable implementation of IICs in medical education from medical and non-medical perspectives. For this purpose, a total of 21 experts were interviewed. The interview material was analysed according to grounded theory principles to generate core categories to answer the research questions. As a first result, analysis revealed that IICs are changeable and developable, not in all, but in many students. It also showed four central prerequisites for successful implementation: the longitudinal integration of reflection and feedback in medical education and practice; a clear framework and individual path of education; the students' mindset to develop themselves on a personal level; as well as the superiors' mindset to openly deal with personal challenges in low hierarchies. Contrasting Carol Dweck's mindset concept with our findings supports our theory that the development of a mindset which allows an open approach to personal deficits and challenges seems to be of central importance for both students and teachers. Two key factors in this process might be teaching about the impact of mindsets on learning and the willingness of superiors to openly address their personal challenges. To improve IICs in medical professionals, it seems helpful to pay more attention to the development of mindsets. Educating teachers and superiors about targeting factors could be a feasible direction for sustainable implementation.

Why context matters when changing the diet: A narrative review of placebo, nocebo, and psychosocial context effects and implications for outcome research and nutrition counselling.

Placebo (PE) and nocebo effects (NE) have been subjects of systematic research in medicine and psychotherapy for many decades to distinguish between the (specific) pharmacological effect of medication and the (unspecific) effect of the context. Despite this significant research, the awareness, operationalisation, and reflection of the multiplicity of PE, NE, and psychosocial context effects (PSCE) is currently limited when researching outcomes of diet changes in studies without randomisation and placebo control. This neglection is critical as it could systematically influence outcomes by moderating and mediating them and thus reducing the validity and evidence base of these studies. Therefore, we performed a (non-systematic) narrative review (NR) on the following objectives: (1) present a concise overview about the relevance of PE, NE, and PSCE in medicine and nutrition research; (2) review the current state of research on reflecting context effects when studying diet changes; (3) provide useful theoretical foundations via consideration and integration of micro- and macro context effects; (4) operationalise as hypotheses the potential PE, NE, and PSCE which are specific for researching diet changes; and (5) derive their impact for future research as well as for nutrition counselling. The electronic search in this NR for objective (2) identified N = 5 publications and for objective (4) we found N = 61 articles retrieved in the first round of search, additional references were identified by a manual and snowball search among the cited references resulting finally in N = 37. This NR offers a synoptical basis to foster awareness and operationalisation of a variety of PE, NE, and PSCE. Interdisciplinary research teams should monitor these factors using, e.g., qualitative, mixed-method studies, process evaluation, item bank approaches, moderator and mediator analysis that might reveal substantially new insights, and outcomes of relevance to science and nutrition counselling. Nevertheless, the present NR has several limitations, especially as it is non-systematic, because it is a very heterogeneous field of research, in which the topic we are investigating is usually regarded as marginal and subordinate. Therefore, future research should conduct systematic reviews and particularly theory-based primary studies (experimental research) on hypotheses of PE, NE, and PSCE in outcome research in diet changes.

Communicative competencies anchored longitudinally - the curriculum "personal and professional development" in the model study programme in undergraduate medical education at the University of Witten/Herdecke.

Background: In October 2018, the University of Witten/Herdecke (UW/H) launched the new reformed medical education programme called Medicine 2018+. A major innovation compared to the existing model programme was the introduction of thematic focuses. A longitudinal communication skills curriculum was integrated into the new thematic focus "professional and personal development - inner work" (IAP). With the start of the new programme, the IAP curriculum has been built step-by-step over time, i.e. the first four semesters have already been implemented, the following semesters are being planned. Project description: IAP aims to provide students with patient-centred medicine. Five areas of competence were defined: Doctor-patient communication, team competence, staying healthy, my paths to becoming a doctor, medicine and society. The focus of this article is on the communication curriculum. The first year of study focusses on the training of basic communication skills. In the 2nd year of study, students practice these basic skills in small groups with simulated patients (SP), whereby the emphasis in the 3rd semester is on history taking and in the 4th semester is on sharing information. In the 3rd semester, students complete a communication station in an OSCE. From the 5th semester onwards, the focus of training is on the consolidation of basic and advanced communication skills, which can be applied in clinical clerkships, and the reflection of clinical experiences. Key didactic elements are, in addition to teaching the theoretical basics, experience-based small group work with and without SP, feedback and reflection. The evaluation of the summer semester 2020 showed high agreement ratings of the students regarding the overall satisfaction with the individual courses (83-100% agreement). Discussion: The introduction of IAP has been very positively received by the students. Challenges are the adequate handling of the increasing student workload when planning new courses, the implementation of a longitudinal e-portfolio as well as the recruitment and training of clinical teachers and SPs. Conclusion: As the evaluation results of the summer semester 2020 show, the first steps of implementing a longitudinal communication curriculum at UW/H have been successful. Helpful strategies were the orientation on published examples from other faculties as well as regular feedback and discussions with students and teachers in order to adapt and integrate educational considerations into the existing model programme in Witten.

Empathy, well-being and stressful experiences in the clinical learning environment.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines whether students in the clinical phase show reduced well-being and lower empathy scores compared to preclinical students. Furthermore, it explores students' most stressful experiences. METHODS: A cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted among medical students of the revised patient- and student-centred curriculum at Witten/Herdecke University (Germany). An online survey included questions regarding empathy (JSPE-S), well-being (WHO-5), distressing factors in the learning and clinical environments, mistreatment and thoughts of dropping out. RESULTS: 176 (34 %) of 517 medical students completed the questionnaire, 73 being preclinical and 103 clinical students. Despite lower well-being, clinical student did not demonstrate lower empathy levels. Main stressors during the clinical phase were negative physician role models and financially focussed care rather than challenging patient encounters. Compared to preclinical students, clinical students showed more mistreatment experiences and higher ratings towards thoughts of dropping out. CONCLUSION: Our results illustrate contemporary challenges to establishing a learner-centred clinical environment that nurtures well-being and empathy of medical students. The sustainment of empathy despite more stressful experiences and lower well-being may be due to protective factors. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The paper suggests activities to support clinical students to find ways to adapt the clinical learning environment to students' needs.

History and development of medical studies at the University of Witten/Herdecke - an example of "continuous reform".

Introduction: The University of Witten/Herdecke (UW/H) was founded in 1982 as the first privately run German university. In addition to economics, dentistry, a center for life sciences and the institute for general studies, the main focus from the inception of the University was the development of a model course in medical studies. Methodology: A description of the history of the development of medical studies in relation to the reasons for its founding, its founding ideals and their implementation; phases of development, transformations and influencing factors are presented in detail. External assessments are also used for this purpose. Result: The "Herdecke Model" was first implemented with the initial group of medical students in 1983. In the past 36 years the curriculum for medical education in Witten/Herdecke has evolved to meet internal and external requirements. The goals of the founders for a reform of medical studies and the founding ideals of the UW/H have continued to lead the University through a continuous reform process of medical training. From the first model of a reform degree course at UW/H 1983 to the current Model Study Course/Modellstudiengang (MSG 2018plus), these reforms have manifested themselves in four major phases spanning a 15 year period. Landmarks of the reforms include the first systematic introduction of problem-oriented learning in Germany, and clinical and practical training with real patients in both clinical and general medical elective blocks that far surpass the Medical Licensure Act's requirements. Additionally noteworthy are the introduction of PY training wards and the active participation and co-design role students may hold. Discussion: Due to the small size of UW/H, reforms can be tested quickly and implemented with ease and flexibility. This facilitates a "laboratory setting" for the testing of future-oriented innovations. The small size has allowed various concepts to be able to be used as models, thus serving as stimuli for larger change in medical studies in Germany.

Is your mind set? - how are intra- and interpersonal competences dealt with in medical education? A multi-professional qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Professional intrapersonal and interpersonal competences (IICs) form an important part of medical expertise but are given little attention during clinical training. In other professional fields such as psychotherapy, education and aviation, training in IICs is an integral part of education and practice. In medicine, IICs tend to actually decline during studies. To date it is unclear why IICs are given less attention in medicine, despite evidence for their importance in the treatment process. In view of this, the study examined the role of IICs in the treatment process, the current situation of IIC training in medicine and, most importantly, the reasons for the comparatively low focus on IICs in the clinical training of medical students. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 21 experts from a variety of medical specialties and non-medical professions that provide a training with a stronger focus on IIC development. The interviews were evaluated using grounded theory. RESULTS: The experts confirmed the idea that IICs are an equally important component in the treatment process, along with medical knowledge and technical skills. They also described large differences between the IICs possessed by physicians but noted a general developmental need. The key shortcoming was perceived to be a deep-seated defensiveness towards learning from mistakes and deficits e.g. through reflection and feedback. The interaction of different factors that seem to be reasons for this defensiveness and perpetuate it were identified: lack of support in dealing with insecurities in the face of responsibility; the notion of medicine as a science with the categories of right and wrong answers; and a range of pressures arising from the setting, such as hierarchical, economic and competition pressures. CONCLUSION: Our study showed, that the defensive attitude towards learning from mistakes and deficits especially in the field of IICs appears to be a subtle but powerful obstacle for implementing IICs in medical training, in contrast to other professional fields. This obstacle is sustained by various underlying barrier factors. We therefore propose that changes should be made within a cultural transformation targeting this defensive mindset and culture and its presumed reasons.

Students with an autonomous role in hospital care - patients perceptions.

BACKGROUND: There have been calls to enhance clinical education by strengthening supported active participation (SAP) of medical students in patient care. This study examines perceived quality of care when final-year medical students are integrated in hospital ward teams with an autonomous relationship toward their patients. METHODS: We established three clinical education wards (CEWs) where final-year medical students were acting as "physician under supervision". A questionnaire-based mixed-method study of discharged patients was completed in 2009-15 using the Picker Inpatient Questionnaire complemented by specific questions on the impact of SAP. Results were compared with matched pairs of the same clinical specialty from the same hospital (CG1) and from nationwide hospitals (CG2). Patients free-text feedback about their hospital stay was qualitatively evaluated. RESULTS: Of 1136 patients surveyed, 528 (46.2%) returned the questionnaire. The CEWs were highly recommended, with good overall quality of care and patient-physician/student-interaction, all being significantly (p < 0.001) higher for the CEW group while experienced medical treatment success was similar. Patient-centeredness of students was appreciated by patients as a support to a deeper understanding of their condition and treatment. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that SAP of final-year medical students is appreciated by patients with high overall quality of care and patient-centeredness.

Enhancing medical students' reflectivity in mentoring groups for professional development - a qualitative analysis.

BACKGROUND: Professional competence is important in delivering high quality patient care, and it can be enhanced by reflection and reflective discourse e.g. in mentoring groups. However, students are often reluctant though to engage in this discourse. A group mentoring program involving all preclinical students as well as faculty members and co-mentoring clinical students was initiated at Witten-Herdecke University. This study explores both the attitudes of those students towards such a program and factors that might hinder or enhance how students engage in reflective discourse. METHODS: A qualitative design was applied using semi-structured focus group interviews with preclinical students and semi-structured individual interviews with mentors and co-mentors. The interview data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. RESULTS: Students' attitudes towards reflective discourse on professional challenges were diverse. Some students valued the new program and named positive outcomes regarding several features of professional development. Enriching experiences were described. Others expressed aversive attitudes. Three reasons for these were given: unclear goals and benefits, interpersonal problems within the groups hindering development and intrapersonal issues such as insecurity and traditional views of medical education. Participants mentioned several program setup factors that could enhance how students engage in such groups: explaining the program thoroughly, setting expectations and integrating the reflective discourse in a meaningful way into the curriculum, obliging participation without coercion, developing a sense of security, trust and interest in each other within the groups, randomizing group composition and facilitating group moderators as positive peer and faculty role models and as learning group members. CONCLUSIONS: A well-designed and empathetic setup of group mentoring programs can help raise openness towards engaging in meaningful reflective discourse. Reflection on and communication of professional challenges can, in turn, improve professional development, which is essential for high quality patient care.

Reflective practice and its role in facilitating creative responses to dilemmas within clinical communication - a qualitative analysis.

BACKGROUND: Good communication is a major factor in delivering high quality in care. Research indicates that current communication skills training alone might not sufficiently enable students to find context-specific creative solutions to individual complex personal and interpersonal challenges in the clinical context. This study explores medical students' experiences with real communication dilemmas in a facilitated group setting. The aims were to gain a better understanding of whether and, if so, how reflective practice can enhance students' ability to find creative individual solutions in difficult communication situations and to identify factors within the reflective setting that foster their creative competency. METHODS: Thematic content analysis was used to perform a secondary analysis of semi-structured interview data from a qualitative evaluation of a group reflective practice training for final-year medical students. The categories that arose from the iterative deductive-inductive approach were analyzed in light of current scientific understandings of creativity. RESULTS: Reflection on real difficult clinical communication situations appears to increase medical students' ability to handle such situations creatively. Although group reflection on clinical dilemmas involving personal aspects can stir up emotions, participating students stated they had learned a cognitive process tool that enhanced their communicative competence in clinical practice. They also described changes in personal attitudes: they felt more able to persevere and to tolerate ambiguity, described themselves more open and self-efficient in such complex clinical communication situations and thus more motivated. Furthermore, they reported on factors that were essential in this process, such as reflection on current and real challenges, a group format with a trainer. CONCLUSIONS: Reflective practice providing a cognitive process tool and using real clinical challenges and trainer support in communication education may provide learners with the skills and attitudes to develop creativity in practice. Implementing reflection training in clinical communication education may increase students' overall communicative competency.

A reflective practice intervention for professional development, reduced stress and improved patient care--a qualitative developmental evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: Professional capabilities, such as empathy and patient-centeredness, decline during medical education. Reflective practice is advocated for teaching these capabilities. The Clinical Reflection Training (CRT) is a reflective practice intervention using the professional dilemmas faced by medical students during clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate students' perceptions of the helpfulness of the CRT and its effects on their medical education. METHODS: Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with medical students who had participated in the CRT. Content analysis was used to analyze the interview data. RESULTS: Medical students did not feel adequately prepared to manage the difficult personal and interpersonal problems frequently encountered in clinical practice. They reported that the CRT reduces stress, improves patient care and serves as a tool for professional development. CONCLUSION: The CRT may be a useful tool for developing professionalism during medical education, reducing stress and enhancing the quality of patient care. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Providing students with reflective practice training that draws on their current personal clinical problems in order to improve their clinical work may be a productive investment in personal professional development, physician health, and quality improvement.

Active student participation may enhance patient centeredness: patients' assessments of the clinical education ward for integrative medicine.

Objectives. To examine the impact of active student participation on quality of care in an integrative inpatient setting. Methods. Over a two-year period, we surveyed all patients treated on the Clinical Education Ward for Integrative Medicine (CEWIM), where final-year medical students are integrated into an internal medicine ward complementing conventional medicine with anthroposophic medicine. Patients treated on the regular wards of the same internal medicine department served as the control group (CG). General quality of care was studied with the Picker Inpatient Questionnaire, physician empathy with the Consultation and Relational Empathy measure, and patient enablement with the Patient Enablement Index. ANCOVA was used to control for covariates while examining significant differences between both patient groups. Results. Comparison of the CG wards and the CEWIM revealed no significant differences in medical treatment success. The CEWIM, however, achieved better results for physician-patient interaction, physician empathy, and patient enablement. Eighty Percent of the CEWIM patients rated student participation as positively impacting quality of care. Conclusion. Our results indicate that incorporating students in an integrative healthcare setting may result in greater patient centeredness. Further studies are needed to determine whether this is due to organizational advantages, students' empathic activity, the impact of teaching, or learner-teacher interaction.

Integrative medical education: educational strategies and preliminary evaluation of the Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Medicine (ICURAM).

OBJECTIVES: the development and preliminary evaluation of a new medical program aimed at educating students in patient-centered integrative care and developing appropriate educational strategies. METHODS: The Integrated Curriculum for Anthroposophic Medicine (ICURAM) was developed with modules on anthroposophic medicine integrated into the full 6 years of the regular medical curriculum. The educational strategy is the ESPRI(2)T approach, combining Exploratory learning, Supported participation, Patient-based learning, Reflective practice, Integrated learning, an Integrative approach and Team-based learning. The student participation, assessed based on the number of credit points earned per year (ctp/year) through the ICURAM (1 ctp=30 h workload), served as a preliminary indicator of student interest. RESULTS: Of the 412 55%medical students participated in the program: 16% full participation (≥ 4 ctp/year), 18% partial participation (1-3.99 ctp/year) and 22% occasional participation (0.25-0.99 ctp/year). The amount of additional workload taken on by students was between 7.8h/year for occasional participants, 33 h/year for partial participants and 84 h/year for full participants. CONCLUSION: More than half of medical students were willing to invest a significant amount of additional time in the optional program. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: An integrative medical curriculum with a student-centered educational strategy seems to be of interest to most medical students.

Physician empathy: definition, outcome-relevance and its measurement in patient care and medical education.

OBJECTIVE: The present study gives a brief introduction into 1. the definition of physician empathy (PE) and 2. its influence on patients' health outcomes. Furthermore 3. we present assessment instruments to measure PE from the perspective of the patient and medical student. The latter topic will be explored in detail as we conducted a pilot study on the German versions of two self-assessment instruments of empathy, which are mostly used in medical education research, namely the "Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, Student Version" (JSPE-S) and the "Interpersonal Reactivity Index" (IRI). METHODS: We first present an overview of the current empirical and theoretical literature on the definition and outcome-relevance of PE. Additionally, we conducted basic psychometric analyses of the German versions of the JSPE-S and the IRI. Data for this analyses is based on a cross-sectional pilot-survey in N=44 medical students and N=63 students of other disciplines from the University of Cologne. RESULTS: PE includes the understanding of the patient as well as verbal and non-verbal communication, which should result in a helpful therapeutic action of the physician. Patients' health outcomes in different healthcare settings can be improved considerably from a high quality empathic encounter with their clinician. Basic psychometric results of the German JSPE-S and IRI measures show first promising results. CONCLUSION: PE as an essential and outcome-relevant element in the patient-physician relationship requires more consideration in the education of medical students and, thus, in medical education research. The German versions of the JSPE-S and IRI measures seem to be promising means to evaluate these education aims and to conduct medical education research on empathy.

Can patient-provider interaction increase the effectiveness of medical treatment or even substitute it?--an exploration on why and how to study the specific effect of the provider.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies demonstrate the impact of high-quality patient-provider interaction (PPI) on health outcomes. However, transformation of these findings into clinical practice is still a crucial problem. One reason might be that health communication research rarely investigated whether PPI can increase the effectiveness of medical treatment and/or even substitute it. Therefore, our objective was to provide empirical and methodological background of why and how to investigate the specific effect of the provider on patients' health outcomes. METHODS: This is a debate paper based on a narrative (non-systematic) literature review in Medline and PsycINFO without any year limitation. RESULTS: Neurobiological evidence based on expectation and conditioning theory indicates that PPI is able to increase the effectiveness of medical treatment. Moreover, the use of creative RCT study designs described in this paper enables health communication researchers to investigate whether PPI is able to substitute medical treatment. CONCLUSION: This paper exemplifies that there exist an evidence-based knowledge from neurobiology as well as creative RCT designs which enable researcher to investigate the specific effects of PPI. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Research on the specific effects of PPI requires intense reflection on which patient groups or types of illness are reasonable, suitable, and ethically justifiable for interventions.

Looking back on back pain: trial and error of diagnoses in the 20th century.

CONTEXT: The societal costs of low back pain and associated disability are immense. However, very little is known about the etiology of low back pain. Lumbar disc disease was discovered in the last century and became the predominant etiology for back pain. Today we know that for the majority of low back pain cases, a specific etiology cannot be determined. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the evolution of the "disc paradigm" and to compare our contemporary understanding to the scientific discussion in the beginning of the last century. DESIGN: Survey of the highest ranked German medical journal from 1900 to 1999. DATA EXTRACTION: The indexes of 5185 journal issues of the Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift were reviewed for articles about low back pain. DATA SYNTHESIS: For each article, the etiologies were identified, categorized, and counted per decade. In addition, each important etiology was described. CONCLUSIONS: In the beginning of the last century, many heterogeneous etiologies coexisted. In the second half of the century, the theory of disc degeneration took over almost the entire literature about low back pain. Pre-existing theories disappeared, but re-entered the discussion in the last decade. Two factors seemed to influence this development: 1) a tendency to prefer organic, visible abnormalities as etiologies; and 2) an inclination to trust technical diagnostic results more than clinical judgment.