Promoting Research Competence In Psychosocial Medicine - A New Curriculum For Medical Students

Objectives: The objective of this study is the introduction and evaluation of a new graduate-students curriculum to enhance research competence in psychosocial medicine.Method: N=57 students have participated in the curriculum to date. All participants completed questionnaires regarding teaching quality and pre-post changes in subjective research competence.Results: All items on teaching quality were scored significantly higher (p <0.05) compared to data of three other comparable psychosocial seminars. In addition, a substantial increase in subjective research competence was found (p <0.05).Conclusions: The presented curriculum provides an opportunity to strengthen research competence and evidence-based critical thinking of prospective physicians at an early stage. As a consequence of these encouraging results, the curriculum has been implemented permanently at the medical faculty in Heidelberg.