[Teaching methods in anesthesia and intensive care medicine. The new legislation and its possibilities for the specialty].

BACKGROUND

As of October 1, 2003, a new government-initiated legislative basis for undergraduate medical education was initiated in Germany which resulted in substantial changes to the structure of the medical curriculum and in a heightened teaching load.

METHODS

The Medical Faculty of the University of Dresden established an interdisciplinary reform curriculum in 1998. Since then a hybrid model of traditional lectures, seminars, practical and problem-based learning courses has been implemented for all courses in undergraduate medical training (Dresdener Integrated Problem-based Learning: DIPOL).

RESULTS

Examplarly for all other DIPOL courses, the 2003 evaluation results of the "Emergency medicine-Injuries-Intensive care medicine" are presented and show that the course was very well received by students and tutors, and that 95% of the students passed the exams.

CONCLUSIONS

The DIPOL anesthesiology course conforms with the new German federal law. A continuous further evaluation is an essential part of quality control and is necessary for the further development of a new curriculum.