Introducing Research Principles and the use of Computers into a Medical Curriculum
Inst. Medical Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence, Inst. MedicalChemistry, University of Vienna
Modern Medical Curricula are structured into two components: a "core" which covers the breadth of the material and "electives"which probe thedepth. The new curriculum for the University of Vienna Medical School goes into effect in the fall of 2001. As one of the innovations every graduate will be required to write a masters thesis since even family practitioners of the 21st century will need a firm understanding of the scientific process. To make this goal achievable, students will use all of the time set aside for electives (32 of the 180 curricular weeks) to first learn the generic skills of doing science followed by work on their own projects. Special study modules, placed at the end of the 2nd semester (3 weeks), 5th semester (3 weeks) and 7th semester (6 weeks) will give the student a hands-on experience of doing science, culminating - but hopefully not ending - with a thesis, for which the 12th semester is reserved. This requirement can be classified as an elective since students can choose their area of specialization from a wide variety of subjects.
While learning about the scientific process students will also learn how to use the computer routinely and efficiently in accomplishing the various tasks. All information regarding the curriculum, from study guides to lecture notes with interactive demonstrations, will be available on the web. The introduction to CBT will also be web-based. Students will learn how to retrieve medical information from the Internet and apply this skill in EBM-modules. They will use statistical programs, read scientific papers, write abstracts, and present results to an audience using aids such as PowerPoint. They will learn what computer-based medical records are and how the personal data in them has to be protected. They records are with remote CO-students over the Internet, etc. Thus graduates shall have experienced that computers and the Internet can do far more for them than keeping track of their financial records.
We will present the contents and methods of the special study modules in some detail; discuss the problems we encountered so far and the strategies we used to overcome them.BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:
It is agreed that physicians should be able to critically evaluate medical and pseudo-medical findings. In order to do this, they should already learn as students to do scientific research, at least to some extent, and to use the computer as its indispensable tool. The new curriculum of the University of Vienna Medical School attempts to integrate these tasks in 3 special study modules. We hope that the participants will learn from our aspirations, likely successes and potential failures for their own curriculum design, implementation, and improvements.Robert Trappl
Inst. of Medical Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence
University of Vienna Medical School
Freyung 6
A-1010 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 1 4277 63112
Fax: +43 1 4277 9631
Email: robert@ai.univie.ac.at
Website: http://www.ai.univie.ac.at/
CO-AUTHORS:
Richard Marz
Institute of Medical Chemistry
University of Vienna Medical School
Wahringerstrasse 10
A-1090 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 1 4277 60870
Fax: +43 1 4277 60887
Email: richard.maerz@univie.ac.at