gms | German Medical Science

The Allergic Respiratory Syndromes: from Molecule to Therapy summer school, which took place on July 9-16, 2012, was the first attempt to evaluate how an integrated medical curriculum works.

The modular course was designed to ensure both vertical and horizontal integration so that to offer students an integrated view of respiratory allergies. Our aim was to develop students’ knowledge, skills, problem-solving capacity and attitudes.

There were 12 modules comprising 25 hours of academic lectures and 16 hours of practical applications, while the chosen methods were: lectures, workshops, problem-based learning and small group discussion.

The following modules were taught:

• Morphological unit of the respiratory epithelium
• Respiratory reaction to allergens
• Broncho-motricity in normal and pathological conditions
• Signalling in the airways
• Normal vs. allergic response
• Fundamental and clinical bases of allergic reactions
• Radiological aspects in the respiratory pathology
• Allergic bronchial asthma
• Allergic rhinitis
• Management of allergic patients
• Emergencies in respiratory allergies
• Communication abilities
• Recuperation and first aid in respiratory allergies

Twenty-three out of 45 students (2^nd – 5^th year of study) were selected based on a letter of intent and an interview. At the end of the summer school, an evaluation of students’ knowledge (multiple choice questions) and an evaluation of teachers by students were applied. The modular course was then evaluated by questionnaires for both students and teachers on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree.

The analysis of students’ answers to the first ten questions showed they have appreciated this experience (score range: 4.4 – 4.9). There were also three open questions about the most useful information, the strengths and the weaknesses of the course. Students were finally asked to evaluate the modules, the score range being 4.1 – 4.7. The questionnaire for teachers showed also a good level of satisfaction.

At the end of the module, the students were able to: recognise normal and pathologic results, correlate clinical presentation with the results and gain a better understanding of the newest developments in the field, while the teachers gained experience in working together to develop an integrated module and guide students. After the first modular course in our university, we have reached to the following conclusions:

1.

cooperation and communication between teachers from different disciplines (preclinical and clinical) is required for a comprehensive module without overlapping information;

2.

small groups teaching enhances the quality of learning process;

3.

close interaction with students enables appropriate feedback for improvement of teaching process adjusted to permanent evolving needs.

The summer school and this poster were supported by the POSDRU /86/1.2/S/63815 project.