The necessity to train and assess communication skills has reached German-speaking dental schools. The present survey allows an overview of the training and assessment of communication skills in undergraduate dental education in German-speaking Europe.

BackgroundAn important aspect of virtual patients (VPs), which are interactive computer-based patient scenarios, is authenticity. This includes design aspects, but also how a VP collection represents a patient population and how a patient is presented in a VP scenario. Therefore, our aim was to analyze VP scenarios integrated into the combined internal medicine and surgery curriculum at the University of Munich (LMU) and compare the results with data from the population in Germany.MethodWe developed a coding framework with four main categories: patient data, patient representation, diagnoses, and setting. Based on the framework we analyzed 66 VP and compared the results with data from the German healthcare system.ResultsEspecially in the categories of patient data and patient representation, the VPs presented an unrealistic image of the real world; topics such as unemployment, disability, or migration background were almost non-existent. The diagnoses of the VPs and the onset of diseases were comparable with the healthcare data.ConclusionsAn explanation for the lack of representativeness of the patient data and representation might be a trend to create VPs based on fictional patient stories with VP authors trying to minimize complexity and cognitive load for the students.We suggest raising awareness among VP authors concerning personalized representations of patients without overwhelming their students. Our framework can support educators to assess the authenticity and diversity of a VP collection.

It is well established that communication skills are a core competence in veterinary medicine. Most studies in the field of veterinary medicine have focused on communication as an interpersonal skill. Much less is known about communication in the context of professional identity formation. Semistructured interviews with practitioners from companion and farm animal practice, veterinary industry, veterinary research and government service were conducted in Germany in 2016. A grounded theory approach as described by Strauss and Corbin was used to identify characteristics associated with professional communication identity formation in veterinarians. According to the current study, the identity formation process occurs in three steps: existing personal communication identity, socialisation and professional communication identity. Essentials of interpersonal communication, communication interaction experiences at work, acquisition of communication skills and subjective clarification of veterinary communication ability and skills are the key factors associated with this formation process. Since communication skills are of uttermost importance for all fields of veterinary medicine, communication education, and supporting undergraduate students in the process of communication identity formation, should be an important part of the veterinary curriculum. Furthermore, integrating communication skills training in continuing education courses could foster professionalism in veterinary medicine.

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Zusammenfassung Ziel der Studie Es bestehen kaum Konzepte, wie den Studierenden Wissen über das eigene Gesundheitssystem vermittelt und die Wichtigkeit und Praxisrelevanz des Themas verdeutlicht werden kann. Der fallbasierte Ansatz und die darin beschriebenen Fehler sollen die Relevanz des Themas für die ärztliche Tätigkeit hervorheben. Methodik Es wurde ein Kurskonzept entwickelt, welches die Praxisrelevanz der Inhalte den Studierenden möglichst nah gebracht werden kann. Dieses basiert auf einem Methodenmix aus Game-Based Learning, fallbasierten und kooperativen Lernens. Im Rahmen des Seminars wird der Weg eines krebskranken Patienten durch das Gesundheitswesen beschrieben, der aufgrund mangelnder Absprachen und weiterer Schnittstellenproblematiken unbefriedigend behandelt wird. Der fallbasierte Ansatz und die darin beschriebenen Fehler sollen die Relevanz des Themas für die ärztliche Tätigkeit hervorheben. Ergebnisse Analysen zeigen, dass die Studierenden (n=1162) bei beiden Erhebungszeiträumen ihr Interesse am Seminarthema eher im mittleren Bereich einordneten. Dennoch empfanden die Studierenden die Methode des fallbasierten Lernens als gut und schätzten die Relevanz des Themas als hoch ein. Schlussfolgerungen Die spätere Relevanz des Themenkomplexes GGG für die berufliche Tätigkeit wurde von den Studierenden scheinbar erkannt. Die geringe Motivation der Studierenden, sich mit der Thematik zu beschäftigen, konnte scheinbar reduziert werden, was auch durch die rückgemeldeten Beobachtungen der Dozierenden bestätigt wurde.