Crisis as a chance. A digital training of social competencies with simulated persons at the Medical Faculty of RWTH Aachen, due to the lack of attendance teaching in the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic

Objective: The AIXTRA Competence Center for Training and Patient Safety at RWTH Aachen University has developed a concept to enable learning of communication skills with simulated persons (SP) digitally. Methodology: Existing SP cases in curricular teaching were checked for digital applicability and modified. Digital seminars with the methodology of simulated conversations with SP, for planned 690 students for the courses “history taking”, 6(th) semester, conversations in psychiatry, 8(th) semester, and in the clinical competence course, 10(th) semester, were conducted via video conferencing software. The structure is similar to SP-seminars in classroom teaching with a case presentation, a doctor/patient dialogue and a feedback session. In the 6(th) and 10(th) semester, the seminars were evaluated anonymously by the students using an online questionnaire. SP were asked by e-mail for their assessment. The lecturers were asked about their experience with the digital seminars by means of qualitative interviews. Results: The survey of students with 92 completed questionnaires indicates a high level of acceptance. Digital teaching with SP was rated “very good” by 63% of the students and "good" by 37% as an overall mark for the course. The digital implementation is well practicable, the retention and accessibility of all learning goals is rated as given. Conclusion: Digital teaching with SP can be well realized with appropriate preparation. Specific aspects of digital implementation (e.g. role and data protection) must be taken into account. The differentiated evaluation of the surveys will bring further results and deductive questions.