Digital competencies in medical studies: results of an interdisciplinary course

Abstract

Digital medicine has become increasingly important, especially with the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and telemedicine. The COVID19 pandemic has accelerated this trend and emphasized the need for digital competencies in healthcare. However, digital competencies have been insufficiently taught in medical school to date. The introduction of an elective course in digital competencies in medicine fills acurricular gap at the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg. The elective course was developed by an interdisciplinary working group and includes seven modules on topics such as e‑health, telemedicine, AI, hospital information systems, and data literacy. Each module consists of apreparatory self-study unit, atheoretical part, and apractical part. An evaluation was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the elective. Six students participated in the elective course in the summer semester of 2022. The evaluation shows that the goals of the course were achieved. The participants were able to acquire theoretical knowledge and deepen it through practical exercises. The interdisciplinary design of the course promotes exchange between students and teachers and creates synergies. The modular format of the course also allows for current topics, such as generative AI, to be addressed. In order to promote digital competencies among all students of human medicine, it is necessary to integrate the topics into the mandatory curriculum.