gms | German Medical Science

14. Grazer Konferenz – Qualität der Lehre: New Horizons in Teaching and Learning

22. - 24.04.2010, Wien, Österreich

Teaching biopsychosocial multidimensional simultaneous diagnosis and therapy at the Medical University of Graz

Poster

  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Eva-Maria Miggitsch - Medical University of Graz, Health Psychology and Empirical Psychosomatics, Unit of Behavioural Medicine, Graz, Austria; Medical University of Graz, University Clinic of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Graz, Austria; International Society of Biopsychosocial Medicine, Graz, Austria
  • author Michael Dennis Linder - University of Padua, Unit of Dermatology, Padua, Italy; International Society of Biopsychosocial Medicine, Graz, Austria
  • author Michael Trapp - Medical University of Graz, Health Psychology and Empirical Psychosomatics, Unit of Behavioural Medicine, Graz, Austria; Medical University of Graz, University Clinic of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Graz, Austria; International Society of Biopsychosocial Medicine, Graz, Austria
  • P.M. Rohrer - Medical University of Graz, Health Psychology and Empirical Psychosomatics, Unit of Behavioural Medicine, Graz, Austria; Medical University of Graz, University Clinic of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Graz, Austria; International Society of Biopsychosocial Medicine, Graz, Austria
  • author Leopold Wurst - Medical University of Graz, Health Psychology and Empirical Psychosomatics, Unit of Behavioural Medicine, Graz, Austria; Medical University of Graz, University Clinic of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Graz, Austria; International Society of Biopsychosocial Medicine, Graz, Austria
  • author Josef Wilhelm Egger - Medical University of Graz, Health Psychology and Empirical Psychosomatics, Unit of Behavioural Medicine, Graz, Austria; Medical University of Graz, University Clinic of Medical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Graz, Austria; International Society of Biopsychosocial Medicine, Graz, Austria

14. Grazer Konferenz – Qualität der Lehre: New Horizons in Teaching and Learning. Wien, Österreich, 22.-24.04.2010. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2010. Doc10grako34

doi: 10.3205/10grako34, urn:nbn:de:0183-10grako343

Published: November 18, 2010

© 2010 Miggitsch 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.


Poster

The importance of medical-psychological courses in the current curriculum of medicine can hardly be overestimated. However, it requires persistent efforts of teachers to acquaint the students with a change from a previously dominating biomedical model of medicine to an extended biopsychosocial model of medicine which needs concrete improvements of the students' in "soft skills" to create appropriate doctor-patient-relationships [1].

The Medical University of Graz has identified the biopsychosocial medicine (as an integrated scientific medicine) as it's general principal. Health and diseases are complex phenomena. As we know by research most of these phenomena have to be seen as multidimensional, hence we need an integrated medicine to treat patients. For all these attempts and goals in medical education the biopsychosocial model offers the best theoretical basis. Elaborated as a body-mind-unity-theory it provides the main features of a scientifically and knowledge based holistic understanding of human disorders. Therefore a simultaneous diagnosis of social, psychological and biological parameters has to be trained in order to enable a simultaneous, multidimensional therapy [2].

At the Medical University of Graz students acquire knowledge, skills and competencies about the scientific principles of integrated medicine and get a basic knowledge of communication as the foundations for a professional medical communication. The main topics of the CSR (communication - supervision - reflection) curriculum are elaborating the understanding of illness and health within the biopsychosocial model, the facts on doctor-patient interaction and its importance for problem solving and the basic rules for a professional communication.


References

1.
Egger JW. Fakten zur Bedeutung der Arzt-Patient-Kommunikation. Psychol Med. 2007;18(4):2-3.
2.
Egger JW. Das biopsychosoziale Krankheitsmodell - Grundzüge eines wissenschaftlich begründeten ganzheitlichen Verständnisses von Krankheit. Psycho Med. 2005;16(2):3-12.