gms | German Medical Science

Das Sein prägt das Bewusstsein (roughly: the station in life determines social awareness) is a remarkable insight of Karl Marx. A striking demonstration is the transition we all undergo when we become teachers. As students we all knew how difficult it was to learn and how limited the usefulness of lectures were – once we are teachers all is forgotten.

One of the functions of conferences like this one is to force us back into the role of students thus letting us experience once more how difficult (but also how much fun) learning really is. There is good news: we can support students in many ways in this task. The 2010 instalment of the Graz conference on medical education, held April 22-24 in Vienna, covered some recent developments:

• Structure and outcomes of a semester-long Mind-Body Medicine skills course (Aviad Haramati, Georgetown University)
• A workshop on strategies for incorporating complementary and integrative Medicine in the medical curriculum (Aviad Haramati, Georgetown University)
• A workshop on how to set up an effective faculty development program (Bil Fulton, Webster University Vienna)
• A student-lead workshop on teaching and learning in the clinical environment (Ahmed Murt, Cerrahpasa Medical School; Paul de Roos, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
• A cognitive perspective on how people learn and the implications for teaching and curriculum design (Geoff Norman, McMaster University)
• A panel discussion on past, present, and future of PBL
• Delivering the hidden curriculum (David Taylor, University of Liverpool)
• A workshop on how to use PBL to encourage basic science learning (David Taylor, University of Liverpool)
• A workshop on a practical approach to implement web based case discussions in a large groups of participants (Peter Pokiser, Medical University of Vienna)
• A lecture followed by a workshop on critical reflections on an outcome oriented teaching & learning strategy (Oliver Vettori, University of Economics and Business, Vienna)
• A workshop on activating the physiology learning experience using team projects and webconferencing (Jeremy S. Wasser, Texas A&M University)
• Lectures on reward systems for good teaching in the USA and Britain (Fulton, Taylor) followed by a panel discussion of 5 Austrian vice-rectors for teaching
• Telelearning (Franz Kainberger, Medical University of Vienna)
• The MEDINE 2 Thematic Network in Medical Education in Europe (Richard Marz, Medical University of Vienna)

A poster party and a lot of networking time by 95 participants from 10 countries rounded out the event. The detailed program as well as the presentations given can be found at: http://grazconference.oeghd.at.