[The medical education in Oslo--consequences of the reform in 1996].
BACKGROUND
The reformation of the University of Oslo's (UiO) medical education in 1996 consisted of integrating the topics more than previously. The old model had a clear division between pre-clinical and clinical subjects.


METHODS
The last class (of 2001) with the old curriculum (155 of 266) and the second class (of 2003) with the new curriculum (81 of 131) at UiO, and the class of 2003 from the University of Bergen medical school (78 of 114) responded to mailed questionnaires sent to them 2-3 years after graduation. The control group from Bergen was chosen because this medical school has the most traditional curriculum of the four medical schools in Norway. Possible differences between these groups were examined in three areas: how they update themselves professionally, how they perceive their own clinical skills, and how they perceive their own ability to communicate with patients (clinical communication).


RESULTS
Median time spent on professional update was 2.5 hours per week for the "traditional" Oslo students, 3.5 hours for the Oslo96 students and 4 hours for the Bergen students. The traditional Oslo students spent slightly less time on updating themselves via the internet. The proportion of respondents who reported to remain professionally updated without problems was 46 % for the Oslo96-doctors and 57% for the traditional Oslo doctors. This is significantly lower than the 70 % reported by all active Norwegian doctors, not controlled for age. With regard to clinical skills, there were almost negligible differences, but female doctors from Bergen scored significantly lower. Perceived clinical communication was good in all three groups.


CONCLUSIONS
There are few differences between young doctors in the three examined groups with regard to professional update habits, clinical skills and clinical communication skills. It is not possible to find a special Oslo96 effect from the measured variables.
Aasland
Olaf Gjerløw
OG
Legeforeningens forskningsinstitutt, Postboks 1152 Sentrum, 0107 Oslo. olaf.aasland@legeforeningen.no
Wiers-Jenssen
Jannecke
J
D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003142:Communication; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires