The sudden switch to online communication training after 10 years in the classroom - comparing the evaluation results of a course on doctor-patient communication.

Objective: The aim of the study was to find out whether it is possible to successfully convert a communication course for around 400 students to a blended-learning format (asynchronous theoretical course/synchronous digital practical course). The main focus thereby was on assessing subjective learning progress and the extent to which the importance of communication and doctor-patient communication can be conveyed online. The study is based on the results of an evaluation of the opinions of both the students and the lecturers that participated in the course. Methods: The students, who were in their fourth preclinical semester in 2020, were asked to fill in a self-assessment sheet at the beginning of the course, and following its completion. The feedback provided by the lecturers was also assessed. In order to compare the results and identify possible discrepancies, the corresponding self-assessment and evaluation results for the past 10 years (stemming from traditional classroom courses) were also taken into account. Results: Participants in the online courses reported distinct subjective learning progress, and greater progress than was reported for traditional courses in previous years. The suitability of the online format was viewed critically by both students and lecturers, while the course atmosphere was seen positively. The relevance of doctor-patient communication was assessed particularly highly in the online format. Conclusion: Based on the results of the evaluation, the experience gained from the blended-learning format will be included into future iterations of the communication course at Goethe University Frankfurt. The results have shown that doctor-patient communication can be learned well online. This format can therefore be recommended for new learning concepts in the future.

"A real eye opener" - development, implementation and evaluation of a seminar on interprofessional teamwork in GP specialty training.

Introduction: The successful treatment of a multitude of chronic diseases is largely dependent on effective interprofessional collaboration. In Germany, many healthcare employees feel unprepared for the challenges of interprofessional teamwork. Can a seminar designed by an interprofessional team for an interprofessional target group improve mutual understanding and provide the basis for successful interprofessional collaboration? Methodological approach: For the development of the seminar, Kern's model for curriculum development was used, which includes the following six steps: problem identification, needs analysis, goal definition (learning objectives and learning content), educational strategies, implementation and evaluation. The all-day event brought together physiotherapists, pharmacists, medical assistants and doctors undergoing specialist training in family medicine. Representatives of the various professions were recruited through multiple channels (associations, pharmacist societies, alumni-networks, etc.). Practical examples and role-play were used to develop a better understanding of each other's professions and to support goal-oriented and appreciative communication among them. The seminar belongs to the curriculum provided by the Hesse Competence Center for Specialist Training in General Practice and has so far taken place three times. The evaluation was carried out by means of a detailed, self-designed questionnaire with five open and 20 closed questions. The statistical analysis was mainly descriptive (mean value, minimum, maximum and SD). Results: Overall, 29 persons have participated in the workshops (eleven doctors undergoing specialist training, six physiotherapists, six pharmacists, six medical assistants). Overall, the seminar was rated very highly. Individual aspects of the seminar's design, such as relevance and practice-orientation, as well as an assessment of whether the seminar contributed towards increasing participants' ability to collaborate with other professionals, were rated positively. In addition, a pre-post comparison of self-assessed ability to collaborate interprofessionally showed significant improvement. Discussion: This highly interactive one-day seminar design contributed towards improving understanding for other professions and communication skills. In order to achieve a broad-based improvement in interprofessional collaboration over the long term, this or similar concepts should be employed more extensively. Conclusions: The results suggest that participants in interprofessional seminars consider them to improve interprofessional collaboration.

Learning how to conduct medical interviews online for the first time - this is what we learned in Frankfurt am Main.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to convert a course on history taking, in theory and practice, to an online format over a very short time. A key question was whether, and if so to what extent, basic theory and, in particular, the practical skills required to conduct medical interviews can be learned online. Methodology/project description: The teaching program in basic theory was didactically redesigned and asynchronously placed on a learning platform, while the practical program, which consisted of training in conducting history-taking interviews, took place with the help of video conferencing software during synchronous sessions. For the practical sessions, the lecturers received organizational and technical support. Results: Based on initial evaluation results, a positive picture of the conversion has emerged since the course was completed. The need to restructure the course and use new teaching methods because of the COVID-19 pandemic was well accepted by lecturers and students, and the course content was successfully adapted to an online format. Conclusion: Overall, the online format enabled the learning objectives of the course to be successfully achieved. For topics such as non-verbal communication, the evaluation results indicated that a classroom format is preferable. Asynchronous theory teaching was generally very well received. Blended learning formats thus represent an appropriate means of teaching how to conduct medical interviews. Overall, online courses on conducting medical interviews provide students with the opportunity to become acquainted with the use of digital formats to conduct doctor-patient interviews, and to develop the relevant skills.

Feedback in medical education - a workshop report with practical examples and recommendations.

Background: As a teaching method, feedback is an integral part of medical education. However, there is a lack of a uniform theoretical basis or generally recognized guidelines for its specific design. Against this background, the aim of this article is to discuss conceptual considerations and empirical findings regarding feedback using various practical examples. Procedure and conceptual considerations: Building on the results of a workshop of the Committee for Communicative and Social Competences of the Society for Medical Education (GMA), this article first explains central conceptual considerations and empirical results on the topic of feedback. A particular focus is on various variables that influence the effect of feedback. This includes the feedback source, the frequency of feedback, starting points of feedback, the connection between feedback and reflection as well as the motivation and meta-cognitive skills of the feedback recipient. Practical examples: The implementation of feedback in practice is illustrated using eight examples from the field of medical and dental education. They stem from various settings and the focus is on formative oral feedback. It will become evident that the focus is more on the givers of feedback than the recipients of feedback. Instructions for recipients of feedback on how to reflect on it is still the exception. Discussion: Many of the relevant aspects for the effect of feedback described in the literature are already taken into account in the practical examples discussed. In conclusion, seven recommendations are made for implementing feedback in practice.

"Landpartie 2.0" - Conceptual development and implementation of a longitudinal priority program to promote family medicine in rural areas.

Objective: This article reports on the conceptual development and subsequent implementation of a targeted and attractive general practice teaching program in a rural area for students of human medicine at the medical faculty of Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main. Project description: Since the 2016/2017 winter semester, usually up to 15 interested students a year have had the opportunity to participate in the longitudinal priority program "Landpartie 2.0". The program runs for six semesters during the clinical stage of medical studies and consists of regular internships during which the students receive one-to-one support in a family practice, and participate in a series of seminars and an annual one-day excursion. The aim is to enable students, early on in their studies and without any obligations, to gain uninterrupted experience of providing patient care, and to find out what it means to pursue a career in family medicine. Results: Since the beginning of the annual program, 62 students have been included in it. The initial results show that the different elements of the program fulfil the expectations and requirements of participants and that their overall level of satisfaction is high. Almost 95% of students reported that they felt their knowledge had increased as a result of the internships, and they rated them as a useful part of their medical education. Despite the rural focus of the program, around half of the participants were of urban origin. Conclusion: The "Landpartie 2.0" provides students with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with family health care in a rural area. Further studies should investigate to what extent the program encourages students to continue their training with a view to pursuing a career in family medicine.

[Structuring and supporting specialist training in general practice: Evaluation of a Hesse-wide mentoring program for doctors]. / Strukturiert und unterstützt durch die Weiterbildung Allgemeinmedizin: Evaluation eines hessenweiten Mentoringprogramms für Ärzte/innen in Weiterbildung Allgemeinmedizin.

INTRODUCTION: Due to the growing shortage of general practitioners (GPs), solutions are being sought to improve the structure and attraction of specialist training in general practice. In 2012, the Competence Center for Specialist Training in General Practice was set up in the federal state of Hesse, Germany, in order to provide a seminar- and mentoring program to complement standard specialist training. The present paper examines whether the mentoring program, which was based on needs assessment, supports doctors in training (DiT) to become specialists in general practice. METHODS: A mixed-methods design was used for the evaluation of the mentoring program. The pilot cohort monitored in this study was surveyed using a guideline-based interview. The cohort consisted of the first cohort of participants in the Specialist Training Academy (n=21), which was divided into two mentoring groups. Responses were evaluated with the help of the MAXQDA 11 program and qualitative content analysis to structure content. Furthermore, all 16 group meetings were assessed by means of evaluation sheets (n=132) and analyzed descriptively using the statistics program SPSS (IBM statistics, Version 20). RESULTS: Of the 21 DiTs of the total sample that took part in the interviews, two-thirds of the surveyed mentees were female (71.4 %). The mentoring and seminar programs encouraged the mentees in their decision for and their identification with specialist training in general practice and helped them overcome any doubts about their choice. The decisive factors in the mentoring process were interacting with like-minded people, discussing organizational questions and having a fixed contact person in case of questions and doubts. The evaluation sheets made it clear that the mentees regarded the mentoring as supportive (99.3 % positive). Compared to the other mentoring group, participants in the one group felt they were better supported by mentoring, found the interaction with other DiTs more helpful, the interaction between mentors and the group exactly right, and the topics they discussed more relevant. CONCLUSION: The provided mentoring program fulfilled the expectations of the DiTs in general practice. Combined with the Specialist Training Academy's seminar program, the two programs complement each other and are an important step towards making specialist training in general practice more attractive.

How can General Practice be incorporated longitudinally in medical studies? Students' views on the development of a new rural health program.

Aim: Participation of medical students in the conceptual development of targeted and attractive teaching content for rural areas. Method: A questionnaire was developed to gather information on students' views of their current medical studies, career interests, and what requirements should be met by an optional rural health program in general practice. By means of an online survey in summer 2015, all medical students from the fourth preclinical semester onwards (n=2,150) at Goethe University Frankfurt were surveyed on one occasion. Statistical analysis was mainly descriptive. Personal attitudes towards a career as a family practitioner were examined for statistical significance. Further information was gathered on whether a measurable correlation exists between personal background and desired work location. Results: Of the 2,150 students that were contacted, 617 participated in the survey (response rate=28.7%). The results covered a wide range of ideas and recommendations and were representative both of medical students with a positive attitude toward general practice, as well as those that were rather critical of teaching in general practice. The students expected the planned health program to be of strong practical relevance and to acquaint them with the administrative and economic aspects of running a practice. Conclusions: By including the target group in the development process, it was possible to tailor the health program to meet the needs of future participants more precisely. Student participation can also be expected to result in greater acceptance of the program. The results on teaching content may also provide other medical faculties with orientation when developing comparable programs.

From single course to comprehensive programme: Experiences developing and establishing an Office for Medical Education.

Since 2002 several individual courses in medical education have been offered by the Frankfurt University Medical School and its teaching hospital. This programme was expanded in 2011 into a comprehensive, structured programme covering the broad spectrum of topics surrounding teaching; the programme is housed within the Medical School as part of the Frankfurter Arbeitsstelle für Medizindidaktik (FAM). The following factors were critical to successful implementation: existing programmes in other German states (primarily Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia) with matching requirements, support from the Deans of Studies, anchoring attendance rules for medical education courses in the university rules and regulations governing who is qualified to lecture at the university level, and a sufficient number of faculty members interested in teaching as a discipline in itself. The programme's core elements include a basic course for all newly hired faculty with teaching responsibilities and a modular design that allows individuals to focus on their particular interests and needs. Although the programme is largely mandatory, there is a high level of satisfaction and a lasting growth in knowledge among participants.

[On the way to becoming an MD (Dr. med.): What kind of support do doctoral students need? Part 1: Survey and development of a program]. / Auf dem Weg zum Dr. med. - Welche Unterstützung brauchen Promovierende der Medizin? Teil 1: Bestandsaufnahme und Konzeptentwicklung.

In Germany, medical doctorates are regularly criticized for their insufficient quality. In order to improve the quality of doctorates and to support doctoral candidates, a department-wide doctoral research program was established at the Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main in 2011 taking into account the practical needs of doctoral students at the School of Medicine. The program development proceeded in several steps: in the first step (2009/2010), a pilot study with eleven doctoral candidates was carried out at the Institute of General Practice. Their ratings of the perceived relevance and their own knowledge of 15 topics of scientific work were used to identify a provisional need for support. Subsequently an interdisciplinary panel of experts established the program throughout the faculty. Since its implementation, a requirements analysis in the form of questionnaires has been continuously carried out in order to assess the doctoral students' prior knowledge and their preferences expressed. At the same time, systematic searches for support programs in other medical fields have been conducted throughout Germany on several occasions. On the basis of the pilot study, the research results and the expert panel discussions the following topics were found to be particularly relevant: principles of good scientific practice, literature search, reference management, organization and structure of a doctoral thesis, formatting of Word documents, clinical epidemiology and data management. A specific, stepwise development process was used to design a concept for the faculty of medicine that pays close attention to the knowledge and interests of doctoral candidates. The establishment of the doctoral research program in Frankfurt and the results of its evaluation are presented in a second article (Paulitsch et al., 2016).

[On the way to becoming an MD (Dr. med.): What kind of support do doctoral students need? Part 2: Establishing the program]. / Auf dem Weg zum Dr. med. - Welche Unterstützung brauchen Promovierende der Medizin? Teil 2: Etablierung des Konzepts.

The poor quality of medical dissertations has repeatedly been criticized by scientific and higher education institutions. In medicine, doctoral students rated their own knowledge of fundamental scientific issues as low. The establishment of a doctoral research program could solve this problem. However, no scientific paper has yet been published showing how such support programs should be designed. Here we present an example of such a design on the basis of the doctoral research program which the Faculty of Medicine at the Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, established in 2011. Using requirements analyses, eight basic courses have been developed that can be attended separately but are considered to contain essential information for all doctorates. To ensure a high quality of the doctoral research program and to take into account the needs of doctoral students, both the individual courses and the doctoral research program as a whole were evaluated. The doctoral research program has been very well accepted by doctoral students, with a total of 449 doctoral students, who attended an average of five courses from 2011 to 2014. The total number of participants amounted to 2,302 in 159 courses. The results of the evaluation show that on average all the basic courses were considered to be 'good' or 'very good'. After participating in eight courses, the doctoral students' overall evaluation of the doctoral research program resulted in a very positive assessment of the overall concept. Further aspects, such as the examination of the impact of participation in the doctoral research program on dissertation quality, are pending. Due to the positive feedback from participants, we recommend that other faculties establish similar programs.

Development and validation of the "FrOCK": Frankfurt observer communication checklist.

OBJECTIVES: Appropriate communication behaviour during medical consultations has been shown to improve doctor-patient relationships, and should therefore be an integral part of medical training. In Germany, though, there are almost no reliable and validated checklists for assessing communication skills during medical examinations. Our aim was to develop and validate the first German checklist to examine communication skills that can be used during examinations: the Frankfurt Observer Communication Checklist (FrOCK). METHODS: The checklist was developed according to a set of requirements that would need to be met by medical training checklists. It was pilot tested, revised and validated over several steps. Data analyses are provided for 371 assessments (371 students) by 17 examiners. After reviewing face validity and comprehensibility, we also checked for validity by comparing a trained and an untrained group of students and testing for both inter- and intrarater reliability. Interrater reliability was analysed by means of 37 interviews that were simultaneously assessed by five examiners. Intrarater reliability was calculated by having three examiners assess the same 37 students at two different points in time. RESULTS: The final version of FrOCK consists of 31 items for conducting medical interviews which can be broadly divided into four areas: "beginning and conclusion of the interview", "interview technique", "contact skills /empathy" and "history taking". Several aspects of validity could be demonstrated, and both intra- and interrater reliability were high. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study have shown that FrOCK is a clear and concise checklist for assessing communication skills in medical examinations and one that satisfies psychometric requirements as well. It takes only 3 to 5minutes to complete and thus is particularly useful for assessing communication skills in medical examinations.