Teaching and learning in surgery - the Gottingen curriculum

The study of medicine in Germany is in need of reform. Over-subscribed cour ses, the lack of practical reference, scarce patient contact and cancelled lessons define the educational landscape for many students. Since at presen t we cannot carry out global reforms, the quality of medical education is h ighly dependent on the commitment of those responsible in the individual in stitution. The aim of the revised surgical curriculum in Gottingen is to de monstrate how medical education with a high didactic level including multim edia teaching can be realised despite large student numbers. Duties both in patient care and education are coordinated through integrated organisation . Educational content and structure are made transparent by online guideboo ks. In the surgical examination course and the practical course in surgery, patient-oriented tuition takes place consistently in small groups. The Tea ching Studio provides additional aids such as interactive CD-ROMs, online r esearch, textbooks, ultrasound equipment, examination and suturing dummies. Curriculum-relevant information, including the weekly case examples and in struction guides for clinical practical experience, is presented on an Inte rnet website. Constant evaluation of the curriculum not only documents stud ent motivation, but also serves to improve the educational concepts on a co ntinuous basis. On completion of the practical course in surgery, 65% of pa rticipants maintain that they have reached the defined learning objectives "well" or "very well" (prior to reform only 17%). In the summer semester 20 00, 46 % of students gave top marks in the practical course in surgery with respect to tuition in patient contact. The results of the evaluations veri fy the positive feedback from the student body.