Medical School

1st academic year: Introduction to patient care
2nd academic year: Introduction to taking a patient history
4th academic year: -Module on general practice and family medicine 
                                     -Research trimester
5th academic year: General practice internship

1st academic year: Introduction to patient care 
In keeping with the curriculum of the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minn., U.S., students are confronted with doctor-patient communication in the first year of study. Role-play, communication exercises and problem-oriented learning (POL) give students a better understanding of how to deal with patients in practice. Students are exposed to everyday life in medical practice and are confronted with difficult situations in health care. A main focus of the course is dealing with socially disadvantaged patients (asylum seekers, foreigners, unemployed) and the terminally ill (palliative care). The course comprises of whole days or afternoons in the second half of the first year. It includes 50 lessons, of which one whole day is spent in a general medical practice.

2nd academic year: Introduction to taking  a patient history 
This course covers taking  a patient history and examination techniques. It is coordinated by the Department of General Medicine (head: Univ. Prof. Dr. A. Sönnichsen) in cooperation with various university clinics of the Salzburg County Hospital and Christian-Doppler Clinic and general teaching practices. It comprises 184 hours of tuition.

The first part of the course provides students with a theoretical introduction to taking a patient history and examination techniques (cardiac auscultation and pulmonary auscultation, percussion, palpation, examination of the locomotor system, etc.), which students practice  on each other. Students receive communication training for conducting patient interviews and managing difficult situations in health care (ie. giving bad news, dealing with drug addicts, addressing psychosocial aspects and taboo).

In the second part of the course, students are introduced to the most important medical disciplines whilst gathering experience on different wards. Students conduct supervised patient interviews and examinations. The teaching practices offer practical experience in primary care, including taking a general medical history and examination techniques. The student is simultaneously exposed to primary care and the hospital setting, which provides an early understanding of the different ways of working in medicine.

4th academic year: Module on general practice and family medicine
This course comprises a 36-hour module (whole days) in which the fundamental principles of general practice are conveyed (subject overview, patient interviews, evaluation of diagnostic measures in the low prevalence area, the foundations of evidence-based medicine, medication, responsibility of the physician). Tuition includes critical analysis of issues in small groups (7 or 14 students), as well as independent problem-oriented learning. Students spend one day of this course in a teaching practice and evaluate this experience and its findings in class.

Research trimester
During the research trimester students work on an independent research project, thereby consolidating their knowledge of scientific research in medicine. For example, a dissertation in the field of general practice, entitled "The Impact of Blood Sugar Self-monitoring by Diabetics on Metabolic Control", was commenced in 2007/2008 and will be completed in 2008/2009.

5th academic year: General practice internship  
In addition to various compulsory subjects and electives, students must complete a compulsory 4-week internship in a general practice. This is accompanied by an online Moodle seminar.

Postgraduate Education

Clinical trials course
This course provides a solid basis in clinical research, statistics, and evidence based medicine. The course is composed of three modules and a statistics tutorial. The first module serves as an introduction to clinical trials and the principles of evidence based medicine. The second module focuses on basic principles of statistics and provides practical guidance in the use of SPSS. In the third module the participants work on their own study protocol.
The course is primarily aimed at MDs and medical school students with an interest in research as well as research fellows in other fields of health sciences.
 
You can find more information here.

Evidence-based medicine workshop
Practice-oriented introduction to the methodology of evidence-based medicine (EBM).

• How do I become more aware of deficiencies in health care and knowledge in routine medical practice?
• How do I formulate appropriate questions which enable targeted research in medical literature to increase knowledge?
• How do I independently research literature to find evidence-based answers to my questions?
• What are the limits of my own research?

The practical workshop provides tools to extract the relevant knowledge for treating
patients from the flood of information and rapidly changing medical developments. Clinical questions from everyday practice are identified, formulated and researched online, then according to the principles of evidence-based medicine, a validated response is drafted.

Jour fixe general medicine
The monthly jour fixe (usually the second Wednesday of each month, 19.30-21.00), is a further educational series in general medicine and deals with current general medical topics. The syllabus is aimed at 4th and 5th year medical students, rotation doctors, junior doctors and general practitioners. The subjects are prepared and discussed with a general practitioner, a clinician and an institute member. Detailed information about coming events can be found here. 

Event Series JFAM.pdf

Overview Themes JFAM.pdf