HaKom - the Halle continuum as a postgraduate medical training curriculum, illustrated using the development and delivery of the ready for duty course.

Objective: The Halle continuum (HaKom) is a course for doctors undergoing postgraduate medical training in southern Saxony-Anhalt. It revises the skills and knowledge acquired during undergraduate medical training and develops them on an individual and needs-driven basis. The development and establishment of the three-day ready for (resident on-call) duty ( Methodology: The HaKom comprises a total of eight courses already established and four further courses still being planned, the order of which can be adapted individually. One of the HaKom courses is the ready for duty course, the structure and development of which will be explained below. The course content was developed in line with the KERN model using a questionnaire-based needs assessment conducted between 2019 and 2020 among 77 participants from ten different specialty areas. Results: In the in-person ready for duty course, 16 participants learn relevant content for their first (on-call) duty using simulations, communication training and practical skills stations at the learning centre of Halle University Hospital. Participants can study theoretical content in detail in a blended-learning approach. Evaluations of the curriculum taught to the first 12 cohorts - comprising a total of 205 participants - were conducted with a response rate of 65% and the course content was adapted on the basis of these evaluations. All of the respondents (100%) said that the course was useful in preparing them at the beginning of their medical career. Conclusion: As part of the overall HaKom curriculum, the ready for duty course builds on and goes beyond undergraduate medical training. By improving the quality of postgraduate medical training, it is designed to guarantee adequate patient care and can also promote local networking among the participants.