Success factors and obstacles in the implementation of competence-oriented teaching in surgery

Abstract

For successful competence-oriented teaching at the medical faculties it is important to identify the factors that influence its implementation in order to benefit from the strengths and balance out weaknesses. The present study examined the success factors and obstacles of the implementation of competence-oriented teaching in the surgical discipline from the point of view of students and lecturers. After implementation of competence-oriented teaching based on the teaching goals of the NKLM, in clinical examination courses (bedside teaching and block internship, BP) at two hospitals, aqualitative content analysis and quantification of the answers were performed using focus group interviews and questionnaires with students (S)and lecturers(D). During the summer semester 2022 a total of 31students and 14lecturers were interviewed in focus groups and 143 questionnaires (123S, 20D) were analyzed. For the students the presence of concrete competences/teaching goals, guidelines for the lesson, transparent goals and ability to demand teaching goals as well as structured lessons and mentoring were the main success factors. Lecturers on the other hand reported the presence of concrete goals, assistance for the lesson preparation and the activity of the students as success factors. The results of the questionnaires showed that the majority (88%S, 75%D) were informed about the teaching goals and considered them to be followed (84%S, 95%D). Obstacles were the factors "time", "mentoring" and "information". Factors that were between negative and positive (indifferent factors) were "uncertainty about competence-orientation" and "uncertainty how to examine the teaching success". Transparent structure and teaching goals as well as amentoring system are the success factors for the implementation of competence-oriented lessons and should be used as strengths. Indifferent factors represent weaknesses and need to be addressed by training and instruction. Restricted time and personnel resources are the immanent problems that hamper the implementation and require fulminant structural changes.