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Support and faculty mentoring programmes for medical students in Germany, Switzerland and Austria
Author(s) -
Ralph Woessner,
Marcus Honold,
Stehr Sn,
Steudel Wi
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2923.2000.00406.x
Subject(s) - german , medical education , psychology , political science , medicine , geography , archaeology
Objectives To study what is being done at German‐speaking universities regarding the counselling and tutoring of students, we carried out a survey among the deans of medical faculties in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Our main concern was if any such projects were already available to the medical student or whether efforts to this purpose were under way. Design We focused in particular on faculty mentoring programmes, a continuous tutoring by designated members of the faculty on a person‐to‐person basis. Setting German, Austrian and Swiss medical faculties. Subjects Medical faculty deans. Results The return rate was 80%. While general student counselling is, if required, available at nearly all of the faculties, faculty mentoring programmes are offered by only 36·1% of the medical schools, and individualized career counselling by 30·6%. Conclusions Compared to other countries, such as the United Kingdom or the United States, counselling and tutoring programmes, e.g. career planning or faculty mentoring, are not generally available to the German medical student. Regional differences are evident, which can be attributed to differences in the universities’ legal and financial situation. The medical faculties at German‐speaking universities should make it their priority to offer these services to the student on a permanent basis.