Young physicians' competences from different points of view

This paper describes a baseline evaluation of medical education focusing on the competences of young physicians. It was conducted in the context of a reform mandated for medical programs at Austrian state universities. The study investigated the goals of medical education (ideal situation) as well as the real situation. Furthermore, learning methods used by medical students were analyzed. A multiple-perspective procedure was applied and questionnaire data from students, graduates, university teachers, and clinical supervisors of young graduates were collected at the University of Graz. A high discrepancy was found between the goals of medical teaching and the educational effectiveness of achieving them. Competences of young physicians were rated to be relatively low - thereby external ratings were systematically lower than self-ratings by students and graduates. Reading passages from required textbooks is the dominant learning behavior among students. Based on the results, a gap between the ideal and the actual medical competences imparted at university can be identified. With regard to the generally low-rated competences of young physicians, the precondition for practical requirements hardly seems to be optimal.