First steps of learning analytics in a blended learning general practice curriculum at Saarland University - a quantitative approach.

Objectives: Medical education has been revolutionized by the growing importance of digital learning. Little is known about students' online study behaviour and its relationship with exam performance. This quantitative study analyses and describes students' digital learning behaviours in a blended learning curriculum for General practice at Saarland University, Germany. It also examines the relationship between digital learning behaviour and exam performance. Methods: Cohort and individualized AMBOSS® user data from 195 students at Saarland University was analysed quantitatively. Performance in course-specific multiple-choice question sessions and user data of the integrated online learning activities were correlated with each other and with General practice exam grades. Anonymized data from 10,534 students from 35 other German universities served as the reference cohort. Differences in digital learning behaviour between the groups were calculated using Mann-Whitney-U-Test for non-normally distributed data. Results: Students in the blended learning course used integrated content more frequently than the reference cohort (U=48777, p<0.001). The number of digital learning cards read correlated moderately with digital formative assessment performance (ρ=0.331, p=0.005 and ρ=0.217, p=0.034). Formative assessment scores and exam results correlated strongly in the summer semester cohort (ρ=0.505, p<0.001), and moderately in the winter semester cohort (ρ=0.381, p<0.001). Conclusion: There is a difference in the usage of online learning activities when they are purposefully integrated into a curriculum. Digital learning activities including formative assessment may serve as valuable, constructively aligned exam preparation. This is relevant for medical educators when planning future blended learning curricula and portfolio systems, as it may save financial and human resources.

What competencies do European general practice trainees value the most? A prioritisation exercise using a Delphi-informed approach.

General Practice has changed over the past decade. Expansion of clinicians' roles may create uncertainty, stress, and overload - particular for those at the start of their career. The WONCA Europe network for medical education, EURACT, has published competency-based aims and requirements for speciality training in general practice. Greater understanding of the trainee perspective would support planning and delivery of postgraduate training curricula. This two-step study aims to provide a competency priority list, created by European early career general practitioners, to highlight skills that this generation considers highly essential in future speciality training. A competency list was drafted with trainee- and early career general practitioners from across Europe at the Vasco da Gama Movement Forum (Edinburgh, January 2022). Participants identified competencies that they regarded as most relevant for future speciality training in their respective national contexts. Competencies were coded into categories and ranked in two consecutive rounds, the first taking place online and the second at WONCA Europe (London, June 2022). After two rounds, a consensual list of three main competencies for each category was drafted. The top three competencies for each category remained the same throughout both rounds and may be considered competencies that early career general practitioners in Europe consider important for training. Prioritisation of these competencies by institutions and educators within general practice training programmes may support trainees' satisfaction and perceived preparedness for practice.