Theory and practice in medical education – expectations and development of skills experienced by students of human medicine compared with students in other disciplines

Aim: The aim of this article is to compare students of human medicine (HM) with students specialising in the MINT disciplines (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and engineering), the humanities and social sciences as well as law and economic sciences with regard to their expectations of their university study and career and the areas of competence where they feel they have been supported by their education. We present in detail issues particularly relevant to prospective physicians, which are discussed with the main focus on the “theoretical and practical orientation of medical education”. Methods: We used the database in the Public Use File of the “11(th) Student Survey”, a written survey of randomly selected students studying at 25 German tertiary institutions during the 2009/2010 winter term, which was supplied by the Tertiary Education Research working group at the University of Constance. Data on 7536 students was included, of which 488 (6.5%) were prospective physicians. Results: Human medicine students have a clear career aim and want to complete their education quickly. They have a far above-average interest in working with and for people. About one student in two is interested in a career in science or research (53% in each case – close to the average for all subjects). Compared with the other disciplines, HM students are most likely to consider their university education to have practical and research relevance and are most likely to feel prepared for their profession. Yet over half of all students (Ø 53.3%; HM 54.5%) do not consider their education to have fostered their research skills. MINT students in particular are better able to enhance their skills through independent experimentation, while theory and practice are more likely to be communicated academically in the regular teaching of human medicine. Accordingly, the HM students feel less well supported in some areas of competence required for their later work than students in other disciplines, in developing independence, problem-solving ability, critical ability and capacity for teamwork for example. Conclusion: The high expectations held by human medicine students of being prepared for practical work with/on people are met to an above-average degree according to their assessments of the “practical relevance” and “career preparation” offered by their medical education. However the perceived development of skills in theory and practice does not respond sufficiently well to the demands of the complex, responsible profession they aspire to. Medical students should be better supported in developing both practical and academic independence.