Medical students’ adoption and evaluation of a completely digital general practice clerkship – cross-sectional survey and cohort comparison with face-to-face teaching

Figures & data

Figure 1. Chronological overview of the teaching content and formats during the 2-week online-based GP clerkship.

Table 1. Sample characteristics

Variable		Valid (n)	n (%)^1)
Female gender		98	68 (69.4)
Age (mean ± SD)		98	24.8 ± 3.7
Study year		99
	… 4th		88 (88.9)
	… 5th (catch-ups)		11 (11.1)
Pre-existing completed medical vocational training		97	20 (20.6)
Has already completed 4-week clerkship in general practice		99	69 (69.7)
Being a physician’s child		99	23 (23.2)
Family or friends working as GP		99	32 (32.3)
Mainly grew up in …		98
	… big city		29 (29.6)
	… small town		38 (38.8)
	… rural area		31 (31.6)

Note: ¹⁾Unless otherwise indicated.

Figure 2. Medical students’ overall assessment of the whole online-based GP clerkship.

Figure 3. Medical students’ usage of the individual components (teaching formats) of the online-based GP clerkship in descending order by frequency of use.

Figure 4. Medical students’ assessment of the online-based GP clerkship’s individual teaching formats regarding working enjoyment, learning gain, practical relevance and insights into a GP’s work.

Table 2. Comparison of medical students’ assessments of the online-based (n = 99) versus the conventional (n = 277) 2-week GP clerkship

	Online-based	Conventional	Significance	Online-based vs. conventional*
Variable	mean ± SD	mean ± SD	p
General	scale: 1 = totally … 6 = not at all
My expectations regarding the goals and topics of the mandatory clerkship have been fulfilled.	2.3 ± 1.0	2.3 ± 1.3	0.261	=
During the mandatory clerkship I learned professionally.	1.8 ± 0.9	2.5 ± 1.3	< 0.001	+
During the mandatory clerkship, there was the opportunity for a professional exchange with my teaching physician.	1.4 ± 0.9	1.9 ± 1.3	< 0.001	+
The mandatory clerkship encouraged me to further deepen my self-study of the topics covered.	2.4 ± 1.4	2.9 ± 1.4	0.001	+
Measured in terms of time and organizational effort, participation in the mandatory clerkship was worthwhile.	2.4 ± 1.3	2.6 ± 1.5	0.191	=
How well or poorly were you taught new skillsor attitudes in your mandatory clerkship on the following topics?	scale: 1 = very well … 6 = very poorly
Detection of common diseases in general practice and their therapy	1.8 ± 0.8	2.0 ± 1.1	0.047	+
Prescriptions (prescriptions, medicines, physiotherapy, incapacity to work, etc.)	3.5 ± 1.3	2.6 ± 1.3	< 0.001	-
Preventive measures (prevention of a later serious illness, e.g., hypercholesterolemia, obesity)	2.2 ± 1.0	2.5 ± 1.3	0.135	=
Screening measures (preventive examinations, e.g., check-ups, cancer screening)	2.6 ± 1.1	2.2 ± 1.3	0.001	-
Importance of family medicine	2.9 ± 1.3	2.7 ± 1.4	0.093	=
Home visits (indication, procedure, frequency)	2.5 ± 1.2	2.6 ± 1.5	0.643	=
Communication/conversation skills (also with difficult patients, compliance problems)	3.3 ± 1.5	2.2 ± 1.5	< 0.001	-
Meeting patient expectations	3.2 ± 1.3	2.2 ± 1.2	< 0.001	-
Care of the chronically ill	2.6 ± 1.2	2.0 ± 1.1	< 0.001	-
Vaccinations	2.3 ± 1.1	1.8 ± 1.3	< 0.001	-
Physical examination techniques	3.2 ± 1.3	2.3 ± 1.4	< 0.001	-
Instrumental diagnostics in general practice	3.4 ± 1.3	2.8 ± 1.5	< 0.001	-
Questions about contact with the supervising teaching physician	scale: 1 = totally … 10 = not at all
I was motivated by the teacher to become a general practitioner myself later.	4.1 ± 2.6	5.0 ± 2.9	0.016	+
The teaching physician was able to explain everything well to me.	2.0 ± 2.0	2.7 ± 2.3	< 0.001	+
The clerkship was far too theoretical.	5.7 ± 2.6	8.5 ± 1.9	< 0.001	+
The demands on me were too high.	7.0 ± 2.3	8.7 ± 2.0	< 0.001	+
Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of the mandatory clerkship.	2.8 ± 1.9	3.4 ± 2.7	0.474	=

*+ higher rating in online-based compared to conventional, = same rating …, – lower rating …

Figure 5. Qualitative analysis of students’ free text answers. The inductively generated categories were sorted in descending order by frequency of students’ mentioning of them.

Data availability statement

Data are available from the authors upon reasonable requests.