15 years of the model study course in medicine at the Ruhr University Bochum.

The Faculty of Medicine of the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) introduced a model study course in medicine (MSM) in the winter semester 2003. For 9 consecutive years, 42 out of 280 first year students at the Ruhr University Bochum had the opportunity to begin their studies in the model study course in medicine. The places were allocated amongst the applicants internally through a raffle. The MSM was consistently problem-, practice- and patient-oriented and largely did away with lectures, broke with the distinction between a pre-clinical and clinical phase and tested basic knowledge in equivalent integrated exams focusing on clinical application. Following a comparative evaluation of the standard degree course (RSM) and the MSM, the faculty merged the two degree courses into the Integrated Reformed Medical Curriculum (IRMC), which has been on offer since 2013 and is characterized by a topic-oriented hybrid curriculum. This article examines experiences relating to the origins, conception and introduction of the MSM.

[General practitioners in palliative care in Germany: a systematic review]. / Stand der hausärztlichen Palliativversorgung in Deutschland. Ein systematischer Literaturreview.

To investigate the role of general practitioners among the increasing specialization in outpatient palliative care, meaningful research topics, developments of new collaborations and structures in the outpatient sector of palliative care, 52 articles were reviewed. Results have shown that general practitioners are still involved in outpatient palliative care research and show a distinct participation in quality development. Typical research topics in outpatient palliative care research are quality of care and structures. However, cooperative structures between general practitioners and palliative specialists are rare in the field of outpatient palliative care research.