Experiences with a simulated learning environment - the SimuScape©: virtual environments in medical education

Simulation as a tool for medical education has gained considerable importance in the past years. Various studies have shown that the mastering of basic skills happens best if taught in a realistic and workplace-based context. It is necessary that simulation itself takes place in the realistic background of a genuine clinical or in an accordingly simulated learning environment. A panoramic projection system that allows the simulation of different scenarios has been created at the medical school of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Muenster/Germany. The SimuScape© is a circular training room of six meters in diameter and has the capacity to generate pictures or moving images as well as the corresponding background noises for medical students, who are then able to interact with simulated patients inside a realistic environment. About 1,000 students have been instructed using the SimuScape© in the courses of emergency medicine, family medicine and anesthesia. The SimuScape©, with its 270°-panoramic projection, gives the students the impression “of being right in the center of action”. It is a flexible learning environment that can be easily integrated into curricular teaching and which is in full operation for 10 days per semester. The SimuScape© allows the establishment of new medical areas outside the hospital and surgery for simulation and it is an extremely adaptable and cost-effective utilization of a lecture room. In this simulated environment it is possible to teach objectives like self-protection and patient care during disturbing environmental influences in practicePeer Reviewe

Measuring the ambiguity tolerance of medical students: a cross-sectional study from the first to sixth academic years

BACKGROUND: Tolerance of ambiguity, or the extent to which ambiguous situations are perceived as desirable, is an important component of the attitudes and behaviors of medical students. However, few studies have compared this trait across the years of medical school. General practitioners are considered to have a higher ambiguity tolerance than specialists. We compared ambiguity tolerance between general practitioners and medical students. METHODS: We designed a cross-sectional study to evaluate the ambiguity tolerance of 622 medical students in the first to sixth academic years. We compared this with the ambiguity tolerance of 30 general practitioners. We used the inventory for measuring ambiguity tolerance (IMA) developed by Reis (1997), which includes three measures of ambiguity tolerance: openness to new experiences, social conflicts, and perception of insoluble problems. RESULTS: We obtained a total of 564 complete data sets (return rate 90.1%) from medical students and 29 questionnaires (return rate 96.7%) from general practitioners. In relation to the reference groups defined by Reis (1997), medical students had poor ambiguity tolerance on all three scales. No differences were found between those in the first and the sixth academic years, although we did observe gender-specific differences in ambiguity tolerance. We found no differences in ambiguity tolerance between general practitioners and medical students. CONCLUSIONS: The ambiguity tolerance of the students that we assessed was below average, and appeared to be stable throughout the course of their studies. In contrast to our expectations, the general practitioners did not have a higher level of ambiguity tolerance than the students did

Practicing evidence based medicine at the bedside: a randomized controlled pilot study in undergraduate medical students assessing the practicality of tablets, smartphones, and computers in clinical life

Friederichs H, Marschall B, Weissenstein A. Practicing evidence based medicine at the bedside: a randomized controlled pilot study in undergraduate medical students assessing the practicality of tablets, smartphones, and computers in clinical life. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. 2014;14(1): 113

Using Tree Diagrams without Numerical Values in Addition to Relative Numbers Improves Students’ Numeracy Skills. A Randomized Study in Medical Education

Friederichs H, Ligges S, Weissenstein A. Using Tree Diagrams without Numerical Values in Addition to Relative Numbers Improves Students’ Numeracy Skills. A Randomized Study in Medical Education. Medical Decision Making. 2013;34(2):253-257

Simulation-based mastery learning in medical students: Skill retention at 1-year follow up

Friederichs H, Marschall B, Weissenstein A. Simulation-based mastery learning in medical students: Skill retention at 1-year follow up. Medical Teacher. 2019;41(5):539-546

Mastery learning improves students skills in inserting intravenous access: a pre-post-study

Objective: Inserting peripheral venous catheters (PVCs) has been identified as a core competency for medical students. Because the performance – even of hygienic standards – of both students and novice physicians is frequently inadequate, medical faculties must focus on competence-based learning objectives and deliberate practice, features that are combined in mastery learning. Our aim was to determine the competency of students in inserting PVCs before and after an educational intervention. Design: This study comprised a skills assessment with pre- and post-tests of a group of third-year students who received a simulation-based intervention. A newly established curriculum involved one hour of practice at inserting PVCs on simulators. Students were required to pass a test (total 21 points, pass mark 20 points) developed on the concept of mastery learning. An unannounced follow-up test was performed one week (8 days) after the intervention.Setting: The simulation center of the medical faculty in Muenster.Participants: Third-year students who received the intervention.Results: One hundred and nine complete data sets were obtained from 133 students (82.5%). Most students (97.2%) passed the test after the intervention (mean score increase from 15.56 to 20.50, <0.001). There was a significant decrease in students’ performance after one week (8 days): only 74.5% of participants passed this retest (mean score reduction from 20.50 to 20.06, <0.001). Conclusion: Mastery learning is an effective form of teaching practical skills to medical students, allowing a thorough preparation for the challenges of daily clinical practice

Assessment of Risk Literacy Among German Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Evaluating Numeracy Skills

Friederichs H, Schölling M, Marschall B, Weissenstein A. Assessment of Risk Literacy Among German Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Evaluating Numeracy Skills. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal. 2014;20(4):1139-1147

Verbesserung der Risikokompetenz durch Verwendung eines einfachen Tools zur Umrechnung von Prozentzahlen: eine cluster-randomisierte Studie im Medizinstudium

Friederichs H, Weissenstein A. Verbesserung der Risikokompetenz durch Verwendung eines einfachen Tools zur Umrechnung von Prozentzahlen: eine cluster-randomisierte Studie im Medizinstudium. In: Gesellschaft für Medizinische Ausbildung (GMA), ed. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Medizinische Ausbildung (GMA). Graz, 26.-28.09.2013. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2013