SummaryChanges in medical curricula have led to a shift of focus in medical education. The goal was to implement a more practical approach to teaching and thereby create better doctors. However, the question of what makes a good doctor is not easy to answer. This article gives an overview on the literature about this topic. A systematized review and narrative synthesis were conducted including 20 articles about the features of good doctors. Qualitative and quantitative studies as well as questionnaires were included. These studies reported research involving students, doctors, patients, and nurses. The resulting characteristics of good doctors fell into six categories: (1) General interpersonal qualities, (2) Communication and patient involvement, (3) Medical competence, (4) Ethics, (5) Medical management, (6) Teaching, research, and continuous education. The different stakeholders showed different ideas of the concept of a good doctor. Interestingly, patients had a stronger focus on communication skills, whereas doctors put more emphasis on medical skills. Balancing this discrepancy will be a challenge for future medical education.

Objectives Up to 90% of medical students experience stress. Studies have observed a relationship between stress and depression. Coping strategies to deal with stress and depression are of great interest. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of stress and depression and the efficacy of coping strategies in undergraduate medical students. Methods This survey was conducted with 589 second-year and sixth-year students in 2017 at the Medical University of Vienna. The questionnaire included a stress and coping questionnaire, depression screening, substance use questionnaire, and questionnaire concerning leisure time activities. Results The coping strategies were included in a regression model to assess their predictive value for stress and depression screening scores. The most common stressor was performance pressure overload (92.1%). Overall, 52.4% of the participating students reached critical scores in the depression screening. Positive thinking and active coping were associated with lower stress scores. Positive thinking also was a protective factor against depressive symptoms. Less than 2% of all students reached high-risk values for substance use. Conclusion Accessible counseling for students in need of psychological care should be provided. Different interventions of positive psychology showed a positive impact on depression screening scores.

Background Medical students’ perception of traditional assessments have an important impact on their approaches to learning. Even though these assessment formats such as Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ), Short Answer Question (SAQ) or oral examinations, are frequently used in medical curricula, only little is known about student’s perceptions of these assessments. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions and preferences of undergraduate medical students concerning traditional assessment formats. Methods The study was conducted at the Medical University of Vienna. Attitudes of 2nd year undergraduate medical students towards traditional assessment formats, and their relation to students’ learning, and students’ attitude towards objectivity, was inquired using a self-developed questionnaire. Results 459 students participated in this study. MCQs examinations were the most preferred assessment format and were chosen as the most objective format. Most students agreed that oral examinations are more appropriate for achieving long-term knowledge. Female students showed higher preference for oral examinations than male students. Students would prefer an assessment mix of 41.8% MCQs, 24.0% oral examinations, and 9.5% SAQs, if they were free to choose the assessment tools. Conclusion Students prefer MCQ format over SAQs/oral examinations. Students’ subjective perception of the importance of gaining long-term knowledge through an assessment has no influence on their assessment preference.

Background: Many medical schools train their faculty members to construct high cognitive level multiple choice questions (MCQs) that demand a great deal of analytical and critical thinking, application, and competence. The purpose of this study is to determine the cognitive levels of MCQs by using Moore's Expanded Outcomes Framework and to understand whether the quality of MCQs has an effect on students' assessment performance. Methods: Four trained faculty members analysed 100 randomly selected questions developed at the University Clinic of Dentistry (UCD) and 100 questions developed by the National Board of Dental Examinations (NBDE). Moore's framework was applied to assist the review process.Results: The majority of questions was at the level of declarative knowledge followed by questions at the level of procedural knowledge. The cognitive level of UCD questions from 2002 to 2009 was significantly lower than that of NBDE questions but increased in questions written from 2010 to 2018. The improvement of quality of MCQs had no impact on assessment performance of students. Conclusion: The enhanced cognitive levels of UCD MCQs written 2010-2018 coincides with the implementation of a faculty training program for writing high-ordered MCQs. In addition, this study shows that the use of Moore's expanded framework is on par with other known taxonomies in supporting educators in writing items and reviewing the process.

Background A multiplicity of qualities and behaviours are considered essential in a good doctor and are identified in various medical profession frameworks. However, there is no consensus as to their meaning or even agreement on fundamental qualities. The authors wanted to examine the importance placed by the Austrian public on the professional and personal traits of ideal physicians. Competencies were used to create different types of ‘good doctor’ and then examined to discover how these can be integrated into existing medical professionalism frameworks. Methods A 69-item Likert scale-based questionnaire was developed and administered via telephone interview to 1,000 subjects. Computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) were carried out by the Austrian GALLUP-Institute. An explorative factor analysis with promax rotation was undertaken to summarise the interrelationships among variables. Results Factor analysis identified six interpretable factors which we define as six different types of doctors: the dutiful doctor, the online health-celebrity, the medical expert, the service physician, the medical altruist, and the ethical agent. The items perceived as most important were ‘takes time’, ‘listens’, and ‘makes correct diagnoses’. Outcome measures of internal consistency and reliability estimates (Cronbach´s alpha, 0.69–0.86) for each element. Conclusions The six types of physicians may be a step toward recognizing the professional behaviour of all physicians, their actions as healers, and their commitment to moral concepts, values, and needs of their patients, and society. According to our results, the public has expectations of good doctors that go beyond the scope within the medical professionalism frameworks. Therefore, these guidelines should be adapted in light of the changing expectations and needs of the general population.