The profession of medicine: a joint US-German collaborative project in medical education

Background: International collaborations between medical institutions occur frequently in research and clinical training, but less often in undergraduate medical education. Collaborative programs in psychosocial, ethical and cultural topics are rare. The Profession of Medicine, an elective undergraduate course based on the Patient, Physician and Society curriculum at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, USA, was introduced in 2005 at the Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin, Germany, in order to provide students with a learning opportunity in this field and to introduce an international context to student education. Methods: The five-day course is offered to preclinical medical students twice a year and includes topics such as cultural diversity, end of life issues, mistakes in medicine, vulnerable populations, and interactions with the pharmaceutical industry. The course language is English, in a format consisting of both plenary and small group sessions. To date, one-fifth of the instructors have been from the U.S. institution. Educational methods include small group discussions, presentations by guest speakers, movie and video clips, role plays, and reading and writing assignments. Results: The participants have evaluated the course very favourably, with average scores ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 (1 = best/agree the most and 5 = worst/agree the least). Pre- and post-course self-assessment with regard to knowledge, interest and professional attitude revealed a statistically significant increase for all course topics. Conclusions: In sum, the integration of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine's Patient, Physician and Society course concept into the Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin has been an effective method to develop students' professional skills and to stimulate international educational collaboration.