Abstract
BackgroundSince June 2002, revised regulations in Germany have required "Emergency Medical Care" as an interdisciplinary subject, and state that emergency treatment should be of increasing importance within the curriculum. A survey of the current status of undergraduate medical education in emergency medical care establishes the basis for further committee work.MethodsUsing a standardized questionnaire, all medical faculties in Germany were asked to answer questions concerning the structure of their curriculum, representation of disciplines, instructors' qualifications, teaching and assessment methods, as well as evaluation procedures.ResultsData from 35 of the 38 medical schools in Germany were analysed. In 32 of 35 medical faculties, the local Department of Anaesthesiology is responsible for the teaching of emergency medical care; in two faculties, emergency medicine is taught mainly by the Department of Surgery and in another by Internal Medicine. Lectures, seminars and practical training units are scheduled in varying composition at 97% of the locations. Simulation technology is integrated at 60% (n = 21); problem-based learning at 29% (n = 10), e-learning at 3% (n = 1), and internship in ambulance service is mandatory at 11% (n = 4). In terms of assessment methods, multiple-choice exams (15 to 70 questions) are favoured (89%, n = 31), partially supplemented by open questions (31%, n = 11). Some faculties also perform single practical tests (43%, n = 15), objective structured clinical examination (OSCE; 29%, n = 10) or oral examinations (17%, n = 6).ConclusionEmergency Medical Care in undergraduate medical education in Germany has a practical orientation, but is very inconsistently structured. The innovative options of simulation technology or state-of-the-art assessment methods are not consistently utilized. Therefore, an exchange of experiences and concepts between faculties and disciplines should be promoted to guarantee a standard level of education in emergency medical care.
Highlights
Since June 2002, revised regulations in Germany have required "Emergency Medical Care" as an interdisciplinary subject, and state that emergency treatment should be of increasing importance within the curriculum
With the exception of three (9%) of these medical schools, the local Department of Anaesthesiology is responsible for the organization of the interdisciplinary courses in emergency medical care
Curriculum structure At 49% (n = 17) of the locations, courses are organized in a longitudinal format with a minimum of two parts within the six year lasting required medical school curriculum; three faculties use a threefold concept spread over the whole curriculum
Summary
Since June 2002, revised regulations in Germany have required "Emergency Medical Care" as an interdisciplinary subject, and state that emergency treatment should be of increasing importance within the curriculum. With respect to a detailed implementation of the new regulations, it was postulated that medical education in these areas has to be focused on patient care, related to practice and should integrate small group training sessions where possible [1]. Another innovation to be implemented nationwide was the request to assess and grade every subject within the curriculum, and to include these results in the final certificate. These requirements demanded the best effort from many faculties and disciplines, especially where methods and structures of routine assessments were not established
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