title: Dr. med.--obsolete? A cross sectional survey to investigate the perception and acceptance of the German medical degree.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To obtain the German Medical Degree "Dr.med." candidates are required to write a scientific thesis which is usually accomplished during Medical school education. This extra work load for the students amongst a lack of standardization and an M.D. awarded upon graduation in other European and Anglo-Saxon countries leads repeatedly to criticism of the German system. However, a systematic survey on the perception and acceptance of the German doctoral thesis among those affected is overdue.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using an online questionnaire, medical students as well as licensed doctors were asked for the status of their medical degree, their motivation, personal benefit, time and effort, scientific output, its meaningfulness and alternatives concerning their thesis. Patients were asked, how important they value their general practitioner's title "Dr. med.". The resulting data were evaluated performing basic statistic analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The title "Dr. med." does not seem to be obsolete, but there is room for improvement. The scientific output is good and only a mere 15.1% of the candidates do not publish their results at all. Moreover, while at an early stage motivation, appreciation and recognition of personal benefits from the medical degree are considered as independent aspects, they merge to a general view at later stages. The current practice is considered most meaningful by the ones who have already finished their thesis. However, there are discrepancies between the expected and the actual length as well as the type of the thesis indicating that mentoring and educational advertising need improvement. As for the patients, their educational level seems to correlate with the significance attributed to the title "Dr. med." held by their physician.
authors.affiliation: University Medicine Rostock, Institute for Immunology, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Xenia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Heun
authors.affiliation: University Medicine Leipzig, Division for Neuropathology, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eisenlöffel
authors.affiliation: University Medicine Rostock, Institute for Molecular Biology and Medical BiochemistryRostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Bastian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barann
authors.affiliation: University Medicine Rostock, Institute for Immunology, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Müller-Hilke
mesh_terms: D004212:Academic Dissertations as Topic; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004501:Education, Medical; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Dissertation; Dr. med.; medical degree; questionnaire