The profession of medicine: a joint US–German collaborative project in medical education

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Table

Practice points
•Comprehensive courses in professional skills and perspectives have become a common curricular component in U.S. medical schools.
•The “translation” of one of these courses to a medical school in Germany was well received by students electing the course.
•Among the many benefits of this collaboration, a meaningful inter-institutional relationship has developed between the two schools.

Table 1.  Course evaluation

	Average score	Range
Course topics	1.3	1–3
Course director	1.2	1–3
Efficiency	1.5	1–5
Relevance	1.3	1–4
Overall impression	1.3	1–3
Recommendation to other students	1.2	1–3

Results of n = 136 responses. Students were asked to rate their answers on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the best, 5 being the worst value.

Table 2.  Course motivation

	Average score	Range
Interesting topics	1.4	1–5
Course in English	1.6	1–5
Convenient time	2.1	1–5
Easy to get a certificate	3.0	1–5
Convenient location	3.2	1–5

Results of n = 70 responses. Students were asked to rate their reasons for taking the course on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the most important, 5 being the least important.

Figure 1. Result of pre- and post-course surveys assessing students’ knowledge of the course topics. Students were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 (0 none, 10 = the most) to respond to the question: “How would you rate your knowledge of: (a) Cultural diversity in medicine; (b) Making mistakes in medicine; (c) End-of-life issues; (d) Vulnerable groups in medicine; (e) Interaction with the pharmaceutical industry?” N = 142 pre-course survey responses. N = 133 post-course survey responses.

Figure 2. Result of pre- and post-course surveys assessing students’ interest in the course topics. Students were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 (0 none, 10 = the most) to respond to the question: “How would you rate your interest in the subject of: (a) Cultural diversity in medicine; (b) Making mistakes in medicine; (c) End-of-life issues; (d) Vulnerable groups in medicine; (e) Interaction with the pharmaceutical Industry?” N = 142 pre-course survey responses. N = 133 post-course survey responses.

Figure 3. Result of pre- and post-course surveys assessing students’ professional attitude toward the course topics. Students were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 (0 none, 10 = the most) to respond to the question: “How would you rate your degree of responsibility as a future physician toward patients and society in the context of: (a) Cultural diversity in medicine; (b) Making mistakes in medicine; (c) End-of-life issues; (d) Vulnerable Groups in Medicine; (e) Interaction with the Pharmaceutical Industry?” N = 142 pre-course survey responses. N = 133 post-course survey responses.