[Online Teaching in Surgery]. / Online-Lehre in der Chirurgie.

For quite some time, the development and implementation of online teaching has been a controversial issue in surgical education for the degree in medicine. This has become more important with the progression of digitalisation and not least as a result of the current pandemic. It is becoming increasingly urgent to establish the opportunities and limits of online teaching, which has already proved successful under the current developmental pressure, and there are promising concepts. This article addresses the framework and the various online teaching formats in surgery, and illustrates the interplay between technical feasibility, practical experience, and didactic objectives.

Comparison of 'Mental training' and physical practice in the mediation of a structured facial examination: a quasi randomized, blinded and controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The correct performance of a structured facial examination presents a fundamental clinical skill to detect facial pathologies. However, many students are not adequately prepared in this basic clinical skill. Many argue that the traditional 'See One, Do One' approach is not sufficient to fully master a clinical skill. 'Mental Training' has successfully been used to train psychomotor and technical skills in sports and other surgical fields, but its use in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is not described. We conducted a quasi-experimental to determine if 'Mental Training' was effective in teaching a structured facial examination. METHODS: Sixty-seven students were randomly assigned to a 'Mental Training' and 'See One, Do One' group. Both groups received standardized video instruction on how to perform a structured facial examination. The 'See One, Do One' group then received 60 min of guided physical practice while the 'Mental Training' group actively developed a detailed, stepwise sequence of the performance of a structured facial examination and visualized this sequence subvocally before practicing the skill. Student performance was measured shortly after (T1) and five to 10 weeks (T2) after the training by two blinded examiners (E1 and E2) using a validated checklist. RESULTS: Groups did not differ in gender, age or in experience. The 'Mental Training' group averaged significantly more points in T1 (pE1 = 0.00012; pE2 = 0.004; dE1 = 0.86; dE2 = 0.66) and T2 (pE1 = 0.04; pE2 = 0.008, dE1 = 0.37; dE2 = 0.64) than the 'See One, Do One' group. The intragroup comparison showed a significant (pE1 = 0.0002; pE2 = 0.06, dE1 = 1.07; dE2 = 0.50) increase in clinical examination skills in the 'See One, Do One' group, while the 'Mental Training' group maintained an already high level of clinical examination skills between T1 and T2. DISCUSSION: 'Mental Training' is an efficient tool to teach and maintain basic clinical skills. In this study 'Mental Training' was shown to be superior to the commonly used 'See One, Do One' approach in learning how to perform a structured facial examination and should therefore be considered more often to teach physical examination skills.

Virtual patients versus small-group teaching in the training of oral and maxillofacial surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Computerized virtual patients (VP) have spread into many areas of healthcare delivery and medical education. They provide various advantages like flexibility in pace and space of learning, a high degree of teaching reproducibility and a cost effectiveness. However, the educational benefit of VP as an additive or also as an alternative to traditional teaching formats remains unclear. Moreover, there are no randomized-controlled studies that investigated the use of VP in a dental curriculum. Therefore, this study investigates VP as an alternative to lecturer-led small-group teaching in a curricular, randomized and controlled setting. METHODS: Randomized and controlled cohort study. Four VP cases were created according to previously published design principles and compared with lecturer-led small group teaching (SGT) within the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery clerkship for dental students at the Department for Cranio-, Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic Surgery, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany. Clinical competence was measured prior (T0), directly (T1) and 6 weeks (T2) after the intervention using theoretical tests and a self-assessment questionnaire. Furthermore, VP design was evaluated using a validated toolkit. RESULTS: Fifty-seven students (VP = 32; SGT = 25) agreed to participate in the study. No competence differences were found at T0 (p = 0.56). The VP group outperformed (p < .0001) the SGT group at T1. At T2 there was no difference between both groups (p = 0.55). Both interventions led to a significant growth in self-assessed competence. The VP group felt better prepared to diagnose and treat real patients and regarded VP cases as a rewarding learning experience. CONCLUSIONS: VP cases are an effective alternative to lecture-led SGT in terms of learning efficacy in the short and long-term as well as self-assessed competence growth and student satisfaction. Furthermore, integrating VP cases within a curricular Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clerkship is feasible and leads to substantial growth of clinical competence in undergraduate dental students.

[It's all in Your Head! Influence of Mental Training on the Acquisition of Practical Skills in Surgical Training]. / Itʼs all in Your Head! Einfluss des Mentalen Trainings auf den Kompetenzerwerb praktischer Fertigkeiten in der chirurgischen Lehre.

INTRODUCTION: Practical skills are very important for medical doctors, but, for many practical skills, the optimal teaching form is not yet known. Surgical education and training can be compared to high performance sports, since complex movements and differentiated coordination have to be united perfectly in both disciplines. Thus, it would be useful to integrate into medical training methods that have been established and analysed in detail in sports sciences. The aim of the present study was to perform an analysis of the comparative effectiveness of mental training and the traditional "see one, do one" approach - with respect to both the acquired expertise, as well as the personnel and material costs. METHODS: Third year undergraduate medical students were randomised into two groups while participating in a practical skills training session: The control group was taught using the "see one, do one" approach, but the intervention group used mental training. As an example of a complex surgical skill, wound care was selected, as it consists of applying a local anaesthetic, the sterile covering and preparation of a wound, as well as performing a simple interrupted suture. The learning success was recorded at 3 measuring times: Directly after the training in an introductory OSCE (time point 1), two weeks after training using a free recall test (time point 2) as well as 5 - 14 weeks after training in an overall OSCE (time point 3). RESULTS: 123 students participated in the study. At the first time point, the students of the "mental training" group showed significantly better results in performing the sterile covering and wound preparation ("see one, do one" group 67.4% + 11.1; mental training group 71.6 + 10.6, p = 0.035). At other stations and at other time points there were no significant differences between the two groups. The cost analysis shows a potential saving of 4067.68 € per semester due to the resource-saving handling of materials and personnel. CONCLUSION: Mental training represents a teaching method that can be used with good results in curricular teaching in the field of surgery, which goes hand in hand with a reduction in personnel and material costs.

[Train-the-Trainer: Professionalisation of Didactics in Daily Clinical Routine - the Personal Perception of Clinical Teaching Staff with Respect to Didactic Competence and the Framework Conditions of Teaching]. / Train-the-Trainer: Professionalisierung der Lehre im klinischen Alltag ­ Selbsteinschätzung Lehrender zur didaktischen Kompetenz und den Rahmenbedingungen des Unterrichts.

BACKGROUND: Teaching training programs contribute to improving the quality of medical education. In a course of the Train-the-Trainer (TTT) concept of the Surgical Working Group for Teaching, teachers (TN) from different medical professions and career levels were taught together. AIM OF THE WORK: Assessments of teaching activities in everyday clinical practice of residents (AÄ), senior staff (OÄ) and nurses (KP), their perception of teaching obstacles and requirements to improve teaching. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prior to the beginning of the course, biographical data, previous teaching experiences, teaching obstacles as well as their notions to improve teaching in the daily clinical routine were requested. Upon completion, the participants were asked to rate the course. The answers to the closed and open questions were evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. RESULTS: From 2014 to 2017, six basic courses (TTT-A) were conducted at three locations. 97 participants participated in the surveys (AÄ n = 44, OÄ n = 19, KP n = 17). More than two-thirds declared previously acquired teaching knowledge. There were no significant differences between medical and nursing staff. While AÄ and KP primarily taught at the bedside, OÄ taught mainly in the context of lectures, electives and seminars. Only a small proportion of all occupational groups felt well prepared for teaching in everyday clinical practice. The main drawbacks were lack of time and staff, too many students per group and too little teaching knowledge. Nearly two-thirds of the AÄ found teaching in general as a strong or moderate burden, compared to about 50% of the OÄ and 60% KP. Aspirations for improvement of teaching included more precise characterisation of the learning objectives, greater appreciation of teaching as a whole, and regular measures to make teaching professional. DISCUSSION: Occupational group-related differences in everyday clinical practice and individual career progression, impact type, implementation and perception of the teaching activity. By focusing on learning objectives and essential teaching methods and examination formats relevant to teaching at the bedside, teacher training programs across professional groups can contribute to knowledge and expertise growth. Indications of a sustainable effect encourage the continuation and further development of the TTT concept.

[National Learning Objectives Catalogue in Surgery - General Part Defining Competences of Medical School Graduates in Surgery]. / Nationaler Kompetenzbasierter Lernzielkatalog Chirurgie ­ allgemeiner Teil mit fachbezogenen ärztlichen Handlungskompetenzen am Ende des Praktischen Jahres.

Competency-based medical education is needed in order to meet the requirements of medical care currently and in the future. The basis of this are activity-based learning objectives that are merged in competency-based catalogues. A basis for a core curriculum of undergraduate medical training is the National Catalogue of Learning Objectives for Undergraduate Medical Education (NKLM). Already in 2013, for surgery, the competencies which medical students should have achieved after completing the practical year (PJ) in relation to surgical diseases were defined in the special part of the National Catalogue of Learning Objectives in Surgery (NKLC). In the now amended general part of the NKLC, interdisciplinary competencies were defined and consented from all surgical disciplines, that are relevant for all surgical disciplines and that all representatives from the different surgical disciplines should incorporate in their surgical training. The complete NKLC is now available for faculties, teachers and students for trial (available online: https://www.dgch.de/index.php?id=190&L=528). The guiding principle for the entire development process was to make sure that students gain all competencies they need when starting to work as a medical doctor and therefor to increase patient safety.

[Position Paper of the Surgical Working Group for Teaching of the German Society of Surgery Regarding the "Master Plan 2020"]. / Positionspapier der chirurgischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft Lehre für die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie zum "Masterplan Medizinstudium 2020".

The "Masterplan Medizinstudium 2020" from the German Federal Government should not be underestimated as only one among many announcement. Thus, the Surgical Working Group on Medical Education (CAL) of the German Association of Surgeons (DGCH) comments on the intended measures of the "Masterplan Medizinstudium 2020" and discusses the challenges, consequences and duties arising from the "Masterplan Medizinstudium 2020" for the representatives of the surgical societies and those engaged in surgical undergraduate training.

Emotion recognition and extraversion of medical students interact to predict their empathic communication perceived by simulated patients.

BACKGROUND: This study assessed the impact of medical students' emotion recognition ability and extraversion on their empathic communication, as perceived by simulated patients in a training context. METHODS: This study used a crossed-effect data structure and examined 245 students in their fourth year of medical school. The students' personality traits were assessed based on a self-assessment questionnaire of the short form of the Big Five Inventory; their emotion recognition ability was measured using a performance test (Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy-2, Adult Facial Expressions). Simulated patients evaluated the medical students' empathic communication. RESULTS: Students with a combination of high emotion recognition ability and extraversion received more positive ratings from simulated patients than their fellow students with a combination of emotion recognition ability and low extraversion. The main effects of emotion recognition or extraversion were not sufficient to yield similar effects. There were no other effects related to the remaining Big Five variables. CONCLUSIONS: The results support the hypothesis that to build rapport with patients, medical staff need to combine emotional capabilities with a dispositional interest in interpersonal encounters.

[The Medical Examination - Between Desire and Reality - Analysis of Consensus Between the Second Part of the Medical Licensing Exam (IMPP) and the National Catalogue of Expertise-based Learning Goals in Surgery (NKLC)]. / Medizinische Prüfung zwischen Wunsch und Wirklichkeit ­ Analyse der Übereinstimmung zwischen dem 2. Abschnitt der ärztlichen Prüfung und dem Nationalen Kompetenzbasierten Lernzielkatalog Chirurgie.

Background The working party of the German Society for Surgery (DGCH) on undergraduate surgical education has developed a national expertise-based catalogue of learning goals in surgery (NKLC). This study analyses the extent to which the questions of the German second medical licensing examination compiled by the IMPP are congruent with the NKLC and which thematic focus is emphasised. Materials and Methods Firstly, a guideline and evaluation sheet were developed in order to achieve documentation of the individual examination questions of the second licensing examination with respect to the learning goals of the NKLC. In a retrospective analysis from autumn 2009 to autumn 2014, eleven licensing examinations in human medicine were screened independently by three different reviewers. In accordance with the guideline, the surgical questions were identified and subsequently matched to the learning goals of the NKLC. The analysis included the number of surgical learning goals as well as the number of surgical questions for each examination, learning goal, and different levels of expertise (LE). Results Thirteen reviewers from six surgical disciplines participated in the analysis. On average, reviewers agreed on the differentiation between surgical and non-surgical questions in 79.1% of all 3480 questions from 11 licensing examinations. For each examination (n = 320 questions), 98.8 ± 22.6 questions (min.: 69, max.: 150) were rated as surgical. For each surgical learning goal addressed, 2.2 ± 0.3 questions (min.: 1, max.: 16) were asked. For each examination, 23.5 ± 6.3 questions (min.: 11; max.: 31) referred to learning goals of LE 3, 52.5 ± 16.7 questions (min.: 34; max.: 94) addressed learning goals of LE 2 and 22.8 ± 7.7 questions (min.: 9; max.: 34) were related to learning goals of LE 1. 64 learning goals (27.8% of all learning goals of the NKLC) were not reflected in the examinations. With a total of 70 questions, the most frequently examined surgical topic was "disorders of the rheumatic spectrum". Conclusion The number of surgical examination questions in the German second medical licensing examination seems to be sufficient. However, the questions seem to be unevenly distributed between different surgical areas of undergraduate education. In order to achieve a more homogenous representation of relevant surgical topics, improved alignment is needed between the state examination with existing catalogues of learning goals by the IMPP.

Introduction of craniomaxillofacial surgery as a component of medical student training in general surgery.

PURPOSE: This study provides an overview of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in concept, determination of task difficulty, execution, and evaluation by students and examiners. METHODS: During a 4-semester study period, 507 medical students completed a practical skills training (PST) course and subsequently participated in a 16-station OSCE, which contained 2 craniomaxillofacial surgical (CMS) stations covering the following key tasks: craniofacial examination and facial trauma fracture management. The students were rated using dedicated checklists. The students subjectively evaluated the PST and the OSCE using anonymous evaluation forms. RESULTS: Students rated the PST and OSCE as "very positive." The CMS OSCE stations were rated as having good task difficulty (74.05 ± 1.78% average task fulfilment for the examination and 74.45 ± 3.40% for the management station). With no changes to the examination station, no significant improvement of performance occurred over the entire investigation period (P = .787). In contrast, students improved slightly at the management station (P = .308). The CMS stations showed high selectivity and were representative in the overall context of the OSCE; improvement of selectivity increased from 0.259 ± 0.088 to 0.465 ± 0.109. CONCLUSION: CMS was successfully implemented in the general surgical training for medical students, with an initial PST and a final OSCE concordant with the literature. The CMS implementation effectively trained and fairly evaluated clinical skills. Although an OSCE consumes time and resources, this addition proved feasible and valuable, even with large numbers of students, and students expressed a high level of satisfaction with the training.

Evaluation of a 3D-printed hands-on radius fracture model during teaching courses.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 3D-printed hands-on radius fracture model for teaching courses. The model was designed to enhance understanding and knowledge of radius fractures among medical students during their clinical training. METHODS: The 3D models of radius fractures were generated using CT scans and computer-aided design software. The models were then 3D printed using Fused-Filament-Fabrication (FFF) technology. A total of 170 undergraduate medical students participated in the study and were divided into three groups. Each group was assigned one of three learning aids: conventional X-ray, CT data, or a 3D-printed model. After learning about the fractures, students completed a questionnaire to assess their understanding of fracture mechanisms, ability to assign fractures to the AO classification, knowledge of surgical procedures, and perception of the teaching method as well as the influence of such courses on their interest in the specialty of trauma surgery. Additionally, students were tested on their ability to allocate postoperative X-ray images to the correct preoperative image or model and to classify them to the AO classification. RESULTS: The 3D models were well received by the students, who rated them as at least equal or better than traditional methods such as X-ray and CT scans. Students felt that the 3D models improved their understanding of fracture mechanisms and their ability to explain surgical procedures. The results of the allocation test showed that the combination of the 3D model and X-ray yielded the highest accuracy in classifying fractures according to the AO classification system, although the results were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The 3D-printed hands-on radius fracture model proved to be an effective teaching tool for enhancing students' understanding of fracture anatomy. The combination of 3D models with the traditional imaging methods improved students' ability to classify fractures and allocate postoperative images correctly.

[Challenges and options for advanced training in surgery : An interdisciplinary position paper against the background of the hospital structural reform in Germany]. / Herausforderungen und Chancen für die chirurgische Weiterbildung : Ein fachgesellschaftsübergreifendes Positionspapier vor dem Hintergrund der Krankenhausstrukturreform.

BACKGROUND: Even now the further training in surgery faces considerable challenges. The planned hospital structural reform will result in new bureaucratic and organizational hurdles, which could lead to a considerable loss of quality in advanced surgical training across all disciplines. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this position paper is to describe the current and future challenges for advanced surgical training and to identify possible approaches and opportunities for the further development against the background of the planned hospital structural reform. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For the development of this position paper a committee of representatives of the Young Forums of the German surgical societies identified and critically discussed current problems and challenges of the present residency training system and formulated a list of demands for a sustainable residency training concept. RESULTS: The planned shift to outpatient treatment and centralization were identified as central challenges for surgical residency training. Surgical training must be considered consistently and from the outset in all political reform efforts. In addition to a transparent and cost-appropriate financing of residency training, we call for the involvement of all German surgical societies in the reform process. Furthermore, the social framework conditions for junior surgeons should be considered. CONCLUSION: The structural change in the hospital landscape in Germany, which is being forced by politicians, harbors the risk of a further loss of quality and experience in surgical treatment and training. At the same time, the planned hospital reform offers a unique opportunity to address existing problems and challenges in surgical training and to consider them as a starting point for structural changes which are fit for the future.

[Training concepts for in-hospital emergencies]. / Notfälle im Krankenhaus. Ausbildungskonzepte für innerklinische Notfallsituationen.

In this manuscript training concepts, which help us to manage in-hospital emergency situations adequately, are described. International courses such as the Basic Life Support Course and the Advanced Life Support Course of the ERC are introduced. Recently the European Trauma Course has been established; technical and non-technical skills, which are necessary to treat traumatised patients, are taught in this course. The quality of the medical emergency team in the hospital should be monitored to find deficits and to improve teaching. The use of the new in-hospital emergency chart and participation in the new emergency register of the DGAI may be helpful.

[Case-based learning with practical exercises in the course hygiene and microbiology as a model for the implementation of the new medical licensing regulations]. / Ein fallbasiertes Unterrichtskonzept mit praktischen Übungen im Fach Hygiene und Mikrobiologie: ein nachhaltiges Unterrichtskonzept zur Umsetzung der neuen Approbationsordnung in klinisch-theoretischen Fächern.

BACKGROUND: Within the scope of an educational improvement project, the teaching concept of the course hygiene and microbiology at the Goethe-University in Frankfurt was transferred from an organ system-based teaching concept into a case-based teaching concept. Concomitantly, this transformation was qualitatively reviewed to evaluate self-perceived learning success. METHODS: 54 participants were included in this qualitative study. 45 students were interviewed in homogeneous focus groups of up to five. Nine physicians were interviewed individually. Following anonymization and transcription, a structured and qualitative text analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Both groups, students and physicians, prefer a case-based teaching concept in hygiene and microbiology, especially in combination with a hands-on approach to learn practical skills. Students taught with the case-based approach were more satisfied and reported better knowledge retention. The practical elements of the course hygiene and microbiology were positively remembered by all participants. Regardless of the teaching concept, the individual lecturer is considered most essential in shaping motivation. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the implementation of a case-based teaching concept with practical elements in the course hygiene and microbiology increases the ability of medical students to understand the relevance of core knowledge and improves self-perceived learning. The fusion of theoretical and clinical contents elements in the course hygiene and microbiology meets the new national medical licensing regulations in Germany and promises to be a sustainable concept for clinical-theoretical subjects like hygiene and microbiology.

[The surgeon's balancing act-Teaching in the clinical routine]. / Der Chirurg im Spagat ­ Lehre im klinischen Alltag.

BACKGROUND: Thus medical students must be inspired to undertake this specialty. Students complain that the teaching is subordinate to patient care and limited by a lack of time and medical personnel. Although there are many studies assessing student perceptions, few exist that focus on the issues that teachers face. OBJECTIVE: To analyse student teaching in the daily routine and its potential' problems from the surgeon's perspectives. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective study guidelines for semistructured interviews with formulated, open questions were created, which were specified with further questions. All interviews were conducted using these guidelines and recorded. The number of interviews were a function of the concept of content saturation. RESULTS: All 22 participants perceived that the teaching in clinical practice is of paramount importance. Nevertheless, respondents described that learning goals in the clinical routine are not always achieved. The main reason is a lack of time; however, as clinical experience increases other factors will similarly become more important: Consultants and heads of departments complain about deficiencies in students' previous knowledge, including insufficient motivation. Most respondents described that they do not feel appreciated for teaching. Overall, student teaching was perceived as an additional burden but all respondents found the task to be extremely worthwhile. CONCLUSION: In addition to the lack of personnel, a lack of appreciation is the most significant obstacle towards effective teaching. It is therefore important to increase the value of teaching by rewarding good achievements and the creation of effective transparency.

Implementation and evaluation of a Tele-OSCE in oral and maxillofacial surgery - a pilot report.

Background: The ongoing changes in learning and education towards digitalisation have been rapidly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially in dental education where contact to the oral cavity is an integral part of training the chosen digital examination methods and training formats must undergo high requirements to full fill the goal of a real alternative to face-to-face exams. Therefore, this study compared student performance in a newly developed Tele-OSCE with a prior OSCE examinations in presence within an oral- and maxillofacial surgery curriculum. Methods: Study participants were fourth-year (in a five year curriculum) dental students and board certified maxillofacial surgeons (examiners) that took part in a newly developed Tele-OSCE that comprised three five-minute stations (structured facial examination, management mandibular fracture and squamous cell carcinoma) using the zoom® software. Student performance was measured using validated OSCE-Checklists and compared to a previous OSCE examination from the winter term 2019 with the same OSCE stations that was conducted in presence. Significant differences were tested using the Mann-Whitney U test. Furthermore, the new Tele-OSCE was evaluated by students and examiners using previously developed questionnaires. Results: Sixty-six dental students (study group: n=34, summer term 2021, control group: n=32 winter term 2019) and nine examiners participated in the study. Compared to previous non-pandemic OSCEs, there were no significant (p=0.53) differences in overall student performance. Evaluation of the Tele-OSCE showed that the demonstration and rating of practical skills was limited due to missing standard patients or phantoms, however, students did not fear to be misjudged. The demonstration and rating of anamnestic and consultation competencies was seen as unproblematic by students and examiners. Discussion: This pilot-study showed the feasibility of a Tele-OSCE as a formative examination in dental education. However, both students and examiners felt that the demonstration and assessment of practical skills was limited due the new examination format. Nevertheless, Tele-OSCEs might offer an alternative to enable students to complete their dental training.

Accuracy of prehospital focused abdominal sonography for trauma after a 1-day hands-on training course.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a training course for Prehospital Focused Abdominal Sonography for Trauma (P-FAST) and to evaluate the accuracy of the participants after the course and at the trauma scene. METHODS: A training programme was developed to provide medical staff with the skills needed to perform P-FAST. In order to evaluate the accuracy of P-FAST performed by the students, nine participants (five emergency doctors and four paramedics) were followed during their course and in practice after the course. An assessment was made of 200 ultrasound procedures performed during the course in healthy volunteers and in patients with peritoneal dialysis or ascites. Regular P-FAST performed on-scene by the participants commenced immediately following the course. The results for the nine participants (C-group, course group) were compared with those members of medical staff with more than 3 years of experience in FAST (P-group, professional group). A group of physicians untrained in P-FAST served as a control (I-group, indifferent group). P-FAST findings were further verified by subsequent FAST and CT scans in the emergency department. RESULTS: After the training programme the C-group performed 39 P-FAST procedures without any false negative or false positive findings (100% accuracy). In the P-group, 112 procedures were performed with one false positive case. In the I-group there were 2 false negative cases among the 46 procedures performed. CONCLUSION: Following completion of a 1-day P-FAST course, participants were able to perform ultrasound procedures at the scene of an accident with a high level of accuracy.

[Plastic surgery in the German second medical licensing examination]. / Die Plastische Chirurgie im 2. Staatsexamen.

BACKGROUND: There are 230 defined objectives in the national competency-based catalogue of learning goals in surgery (NKLC) for undergraduate surgical education in Germany. These teaching objectives should be met by the students at the end of their undergraduate education, regardless of their career choice afterward. Assessment drives learning, and thus, alignment of the second state examination and the learning objectives of the NKLC seems reasonable. This study analyses the amount of plastic surgery-based learning objectives in the NKLC. Subsequently, we compared these results with the plastic surgery questions of the German second medical licensing examination compiled by the Central German Institute for Medical and Pharmaceutical Examinations (IMPP). METHODS: Plastic surgery teaching objectives in the NKLC were identified by five plastic surgeons. Exam questions from autumn 2009 to autumn 2014 (number of exams = 11) were retrospectively analyzed, and all exam questions addressing plastic surgery-related objectives were evaluated. The analysis included the total number of questions, mean number of questions for each examination, and the number of questions for each learning objective. RESULTS: Thirty-four learning objectives of the NKLC were identified as "plastic surgery-related" (14.8 % of all NKLC learning objectives). One of these was classified as "only covered by plastic surgery". Ninety-six questions (2.8 % of the total number of 3480 questions) addressed plastic surgery related objectives. Per exam, an average of 8.7 ± 4.0 questions (minimum, 4; maximum, 15) addressed plastic surgery-related learning objectives. During the study period, six learning objectives were not tested at all (2.6 % of all NKLC learning objectives). CONCLUSIONS: Questions focusing on plastic surgery-related learning objectives are not frequent in the second medical licensing examination. Presumably, medical students do not prioritize these objectives and might not have sufficient knowledge of the topics at the beginning of their medical career. A better adjustment of the state examinations and the NKLC seems desirable for plastic surgery-related learning objectives.

[The importance of hand surgery in the German Medical Licensing Examination]. / Die Handchirurgie im 2. Staatsexamen.

BACKGROUND: The national competency-based catalogue of learning objectives in surgery (NKLC) for undergraduate surgical education in Germany consists of 230 objectives and defines competence levels for each objective. These levels range from "competence level 1: factual knowledge" to "competence level 3: independent action". The German second state examination is not based on these objectives, although it is known that assessment drives learning. This study analyses the proportion of hand surgery-based learning objectives in the NKLC and compares the results with the hand surgery questions of the German second medical licensing examination compiled by the Central German Institute for Medical and Pharmaceutical Examinations (IMPP). METHODS: Hand surgery teaching objectives in the NKLC were identified by five hand surgeons. All exam questions addressing these objectives were identified in the German second medical licensing examinations held from autumn 2009 through autumn 2014 (n = 11). The analysis included the number of hand surgery questions for each examination, the number of learning objectives and the different levels of competence. RESULTS: Forty-seven learning objectives of the NKLC were identified as "hand surgery-related" (20.4 % of all NKLC learning objectives). Nine of them were classified as learning objectives that were "only covered by hand surgery" (3.9 % of all NKLC learning objectives). Two hundred and twenty questions (6.3 % of the total number of 3480 questions) addressed hand surgery-related objectives. Per exam, an average of 20 ± 8.2 questions (minimum: 9; maximum: 37) addressed a hand surgery-related learning objective. An average of 0.5 ± 0.7 questions per exam were related to objectives that only covered hand surgery (minimum: 0; maximum: 2). During the study period, 16 learning objectives were not tested at all (13.7 % of all NKLC learning objectives). These untested objectives included 5 objectives of competence level 1 (10.6 % of all NKLC learning objectives). Six of the 9 objectives that are only covered by hand surgery were not assessed at all. CONCLUSIONS: The number of hand surgery-based learning objectives in the NKLC appears to be high. However, many of these learning objectives are not addressed in the second medical licensing examination. We recommend better adjustments between the state examinations and the NKLC.