gms | German Medical Science

Research in Medical Education – Chances and Challenges International Conference

20.05. - 22.05.2009, Heidelberg

Revision courses in Internal Medicine as a helpful tool in prearrangement of the German second part of the Examination (M2) for 6th year students. Conception and impact to the learning effect

Meeting Abstract

  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Melanie Simon - RWTH Aachen University, Deanery Medical Faculty, Aachen, Germany
  • author Wolfram Karges - RWTH Aachen University, Department of Internal Medicine, Aachen, Germany
  • author Sascha Al Dahouk - RWTH Aachen University, Department of Internal Medicine, Aachen, Germany
  • author Sandra Sudmann - RWTH Aachen University, Deanery Medical Faculty, Aachen, Germany
  • author Wolfgang Dott - RWTH Aachen University, Deanery Medical Faculty, Aachen, Germany

Research in Medical Education - Chances and Challenges 2009. Heidelberg, 20.-22.05.2009. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2009. Doc09rmeH5

doi: 10.3205/09rme47, urn:nbn:de:0183-09rme470

Published: May 5, 2009

© 2009 Simon et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.


Outline

Poster

Question: In Germany sixth year of studies is the final year, during which each of the following subjects has to be studied for 16 weeks:

1.
Internal medicine
2.
Surgery
3.
One further optional clinical discipline (e.g. Paediatrics, Obstetrics, Neurology).

After changing the regulations for approbation of German doctors this last year of studying medicine needed to be changed and reformed, too. In the past German students passed their examinations before starting into the last year. This means, that they prepared every academic knowledge ere they started with their practical year. After this year an oral examination followed, as a bedside examination of clinical aspects. So students were able to concentrate on that while working on the wards in different clinical departments.

Today, the whole examination follows after the practical year. Students need to study academic knowledge, while working in the hospital. So the last year got a lot of new aspects, which need to be kept in mind, while planning a newly and reformed curriculum for this 6th year. Question is, if revision weeks do help the student to prepare examination and if theses weeks do influence results of the examinations after the last year of studies in any way?

Methods: In Aachen the department of Internal Medicine (Prof. W. Karges) provides a revision week of Internal Medicine for last year students a few months before the examinations start. In 5 days the mean aspects of internal medicine are recapitulated by medical specialist of Internal Medicine. The issues of this week are the following ten: Cardiology, Nephrology, Pneumology, Infectious Diseases, Haematology, Angiology, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases. Students get a comprisal, which is written and reviewed by the specialist of the Department of Internal Medicine of the University Hospital Aachen. The Revision weeks, and the comprisals as well, are paid by the tuition fees of the students in Aachen.

Results: After carrying out this week for two times in 2008 we got a lot of feedback by the student, which took part in the revision. The evaluation of the week was very positive. 100% of the students would recommend the revision to the following years of students. From October till December of 2008 the first participants past there examination and were now asked by an online interview, how the revision week influenced their learning behaviour and the results of their examinations also. Reaction of participants is very positive. During the five days only 105 of the participant missed one up to two days.

Conclusions: Medical Faculty of RWTH Aachen University and the Department of Internal Medicine of university Hospital Aachen are going to offer the revision weeks in 2009 also. This a good instrument to support students while they prepare themselves to the examinations. Also other subjects as surgery, paediatrics and obstetrics as well now offer these revision weeks