Wilfried Laubach

Überprüfung ärztlicher kommunikativer Kompetenz mittels einer OSCE bei Studierenden der Medizin im ersten Studienjahr

In order to determine if first year medical students of a Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology course have adopted basic physician patient communication skills, we developed an appropriate Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The parcours took place in a pretest condition (n=182) and in the following semester under test condition, now relevant for passing the course (n=181). Reliability of the OSCE reached a medium degree (α=0.55/0.50). Results of written examinations and OSCE scores were weakly correlated. The correlation between task competence and patient-centeredness was higher in the pretest than under test condition. Female students mostly achieved higher scores than male students. Nearly all of the students (92%/97%) were in favor of continuing this examination. Physician-patient communication is a process of high complexity, but it can be tested by OSCE. Relevance for passing the course seems to enhance the learning behaviour.

Kindheitsbelastungen und Symptome der Sozialen Phobie und Agoraphobie im Erwachsenenalter

The role of childhood stress in symptoms of social phobia and agoraphobia in adulthood Objectives: Anxiety disorders are among themost prevalent mental disorders inmodern times. Childhood stress constitutes a risk factor for their occurrence in adulthood. METHODS In a sample of 1000 Polish and German probands recruited via the internet, we studied the associations of nine childhood stress factors (physical abuse, periodic harsh physical punishment, threat of physical violence, sexual abuse, neglect, long-term absence of a parent, violence between parents, arguments between parents and financial hardship) with later agoraphobic and sociophobic symptoms. RESULTS Especially neglect showed a strong association to both forms of phobic symptoms. Threat of physical violence aswell as periodic harsh physical punishment and threat of physical violence also showed an association to both forms of phobic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The study revealed plausible associations for both forms of anxiety and various childhood adversities, though the amounts of explained variances were generally small.