Sexuality in the State Medical Examinations - Areas of Knowledge About Sexual Medicine in the Second Part of the Medical Examination.

Although questions pertaining to sexual medicine are part of the curriculum and supposed to be tested in the German medical state examination, no studies investigating the actual amount of questions related to sexual health exist. Studies suggest that medical students regard these topics to be not adequately covered in their medical education. As part of the development of a sexual medical curriculum (Kern-cycle), the analysis of contents and form of the examination is of considerable importance. The aim of this exploratory study was to analyze the proportion and composition of questions relating to sexual medicine in the second part of the medical state examination. Eight exams were included in the analysis. All questions pertaining to sexual medicine were included and in a second step allocated to a predefined set of subject areas and where categorized according to the ICD-10 manual. On average, 3% of questions per exam were categorized as related to sexual medicine. Most questions were allocated to the subject area of "sexually transmitted infections", followed by "sexual dysfunctions" and "reproductive health". According to ICD-10 categories, most questions were related to categories "N" (diseases of genitourinary system) as well as "A" and "B" (certain infectious and parasitic diseases). Consequences for medical education as well as the possibility of an underrepresentation of questions pertaining to sexual health in the German medical examination are discussed.