MED-NET Conferences 1998, Lille & 1999, Maastricht
Anthology of presentations 5.4.

Innovation in medical and dental education

M. Franssen (Aachen, Germany)

In Germany medical and dental education is ruled by national laws. Medical faculties have to organise their curriculum considering these laws. As they were designed about ten years ago, they are not a flexible tool to cope with present-day problems. During the past few years there have been long discussions about the content of new laws for medical and dental education, but a consensus still has not been reached.

In order to improve both the curriculum and the organisation of medical and dental studies and in order to make education more attractive for both students and teachers the Medical Faculty of Aachen University of Technology (RWTH Aachen) implemented a number of innovations in different fields. Central aspects are a flexible organisation of studies, internationalisation, implementation of new information technologies and teaching methods, improvement of didactics and the integration of students in daily patient care.

student support:

• introductions at the beginning of the first semester
• additional tutorials in physics and chemistry during the first semester
• introductions to each study cycle
• student adviser programme

flexibilisation of studies:

• an internet-based flexible course organisation system

internationalisation:

• information about and support with the planning and organisation of a study period abroad.
• recognition of courses completed at the host university (ECTS)
• courses of Medical English

implementation of new information technologies:

• extension of computer workplaces for students
• free computer courses for students
• extension of multimedia didactic programmes
• implementation of multimedia in specific courses

didactics and evaluation:

• teacher training
• grand rounds
• evaluation of all compulsory courses

ISBN Number 90.805758.1.X

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