Was können wir in der Allgemeinmedizin aus der "Pandemie-Lehre" lernen? Ein Werkstattbericht

Background Like almost all courses at higher education institutions in Germany, family medicine teaching had to be switched to online learning formats from the summer semester of 2020 on due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. At Lübeck University, these formats consisted of web-seminars, digital learning material, home-work assignments and, from the winter semester of 2020/21 on, practice seminars in very small groups. These formats are now evaluated and adjusted for the following, still pandemic-influenced, semesters. We aim to provide adequate family medicine teaching under special circumstances. Methods Via the semester evaluations of both semesters, supplemented by questions regarding the digital teaching, we collected feedback from the students and analyzed it. Additionally, we analyzed field reports from the teachers (collected in team meetings) and data on the usage behavior of students on a family medicine knowledge platform. Results Teachers reported a mostly trouble-free realization of digital teaching. The overall rating of the semester evaluation remained unchanged when compared to the previous year’s figure. Most of the students perceived the digital teaching to be an adequate substitute for the traditional in-person teaching considering the circumstances. Practical aspects and personal interactions were missed the most in the summer semester of 2020 and were especially valued in the winter semester of 2020/21. The recommended knowledge platform was used actively by a high proportion of the students. Conclusions Parts of the family medicine syllabus could be taught digitally without significant problems. Recommended digital learning material was used specifically. For the teaching and assessment of higher-level learning objectives, inter alia, practical skills, the in-person teaching is still a necessary requirement.