Evaluation of the concept of students learning practical gynecological and obstetric skills at a large German university hospital, using the example of the Homburg university women's clinic.

introductionThe teaching and practical training of future doctors play an important role in the university curriculum. MATERIAL AND

methodsAt the Women's Clinic of Saarland University Hospital in Homburg, we developed a five-day block placement concept that focused on learning practical gynecological and obstetric skills rather than simply imparting theoretical knowledge. The student`s satisfaction with the block placement was assessed using a non-standardized questionnaire with the two items "How do you rate your learning outcomes from the placement?" and "The placement increased my interest in gynecology and obstetrics". The assessment was based on a scale of 1 to 6. OUTCOME: A total of 205 out of 220 students (93.2%) from the winter semester 2022/2023 participated in the evaluation and completed the questionnaire. 198 students (96.6%) rated the satisfaction with their perceived learning from the block internship as very good (1) or good (2), and 201 students (98%) reported an increase in their interest in the subject area. DISCUSSION: An overwhelming majority of students rated the practical teaching concept as very good or good, which speaks to the success of this practical teaching format. Nevertheless, the study also has several limitations. For example, only one cohort of medical students was surveyed. Furthermore, when establishing a new teaching concept, there is a risk that participants in an evaluation will not respond objectively, but rather according to the criterion of social desirability. We suggest our practice-oriented block placement concept, which focuses on learning skills relevant to the future medical profession, as a possible curriculum for undergraduate teaching in gynecology and obstetrics, to inspire students for the field.