START***-course

Content

Objectives and content
The general objective of the Professional training course of the final year is to learn to integrate the various ingredients of clinical practice with competences regarding professional conduct, didactics and education and with the use of data from (bio)medical scientific research. Above all the objective of the Professional training course is to contribute to the development of a professional attitude towards the correct use and transfer of knowledge and skills for the benefit of quality and effect of care.
Students learn to set up a literature overview for a knowledge gap in medical care, execute this plan, report the results and reflect on this; work out a lesson plan, execute it, report it and reflect on it; discuss and reflect on various social, ethical and organizational aspects of medical care in discussion and written reports.
The professional training course consists of three modules.
In the module Evidence based medicine (EBM) solving clinical problems according to the methods of EBM, with application of knowledge from clinical scientific research, takes center stage. The objective here is to optimize diagnostics, prognostics and treatment according to the method of scientifically-founded conduct in medical practice. The module is an important incentive for this.
The focus of the module Professionalism are the social and personal aspects of the professional practice of a physician. More specifically, in preparation for the medical professional conduct, the development of attitude and legal, medical-ethical and social aspects of medicine are covered. This module stimulates the (further) acquisition of competences in the areas of professionalism, social conduct and communication. 
In the module Educational Training the emphasis is on the contribution to knowledge and skills of others. Every physician should contribute to the medical knowledge acquisition of others; from patients to colleagues, but also future colleagues, in other words, younger students. The module forms an important starting point in this respect.

Work formats and weekly schedule
The professional training course takes 6 weeks. Apart from the continual training of the module Evidence based medicine, a bit more than one week will be dedicated to training in the module Educational training and two weeks to the module professionalism. The work formats vary from small work groups and interactive lectures to plenary presentations. An important part of the course load consists of self-study in preparation to the work groups and presentations. Presentations are scheduled every Friday and final presentations are scheduled in the last (6^th) week of the Professional training course. During that last week all written assignments need to be handed in. 

Place within the curriculum
The module Evidence based medicine and the module Professionalism in the Professional training course form a unit with the corresponding modules of the professional training days during the rest of master year 3. During these professional training days the knowledge and skills acquired during the Professional training course will be integrated.

Literature
In the modules Evidence based medicine and Educational training articles are used which the student has to retrieve from the internet him/herself. Previously acquired books and literature are used in the module Professionalism, plus articles which the student has to retrieve from the internet. Specific information on the literature for all three modules can be found in the course manual and on Blackboard.

Course materials
Apart from the above mentioned literature, various relevant course manuals are used. Information about all course materials can be found on Blackboard and in the course manual.
 
Assessment
Every module needs to be completed with a sufficient grade (>5.5). The final assessment of a module consists of the weighted average of the sub-assessments.
The final grade for the Professional training course is determined by the calculation of a weighted average of the final grades of the three modules. For the module Educational training the student is required to fill in a reflection form and a presentation plus feedback will be assessed. For the module Professionalism individual papers will be assessed in addition to participation in and contribution to the work group sessions. For the module Evidence based medicine the verbally presented and written reported summaries will be assessed in addition to participation in and contribution to the work group sessions.

Contact
Dr. L. Hooft and dr. R. de Heus, examiners
Tel: 088-7559304
Email: student@juliuscenter.nl
 
Coordinators
Module Educational training: Prof. dr. Th.J. ten Cate
Module Professionalism: Prof. dr. J.J.M. van Delden
Module Evidence based medicine: Pauline Heus, MSc