title: Development of a seminar on medical professionalism accompanying the dissection course.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Medical professionalism is an increasingly important issue in medical education. The dissection course represents a profound experience for undergraduate medical students, which may be suitable to address competencies such as self-reflection and professional behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on a needs assessment, a seminar on medical professionalism was developed to parallel the dissection course. The conceptual framework for the teaching intervention is experiential learning. Specific learning goals and an interview guideline were formulated. After a pilot run, peer-teaching was introduced.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over three terms (winter 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15), an average of 129 students voluntarily participated in the seminar, corresponding to 40% of the student cohort. The evaluation (n=38) shows a majority of students agreeing that the seminar offers support with this extraordinary situation in general and also that the seminar helps them to become first impressions on how to cope with death and dying in their later professional life as a doctor, and, that it also provides them the means to reflect upon their own coping mechanisms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although not yet implemented as an obligatory course, the seminar is appreciated and positively evaluated. Medical professionalism is an implicit aspect of the dissection course. To emphasize its importance, a teaching intervention to explicitly discuss this topic is advisable.
authors: Institute of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. Electronic address: thomas.shiozawa@uni-tuebingen.de.
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Shiozawa
authors: Competence Center for University Teaching in Medicine, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. Electronic address: jan.griewatz@uni-tuebingen.de.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Griewatz
authors: Institute of Clinical Anatomy and Cell Analysis, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. Electronic address: bernhard.hirt@uni-tuebingen.de.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Hirt
authors: Medical Faculty, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany; Department of Internal Medicine VI, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. Electronic address: stephan.zipfel@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Zipfel
authors: Competence Center for University Teaching in Medicine, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. Electronic address: maria.lammerding@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Lammerding-Koeppel
authors: Department of Internal Medicine VI, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. Electronic address: anne.herrmann-werner@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Herrmann-Werner
mesh_terms: D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education* / Q000941:ethics*; D003479:Curriculum; D004210:Dissection / Q000193:education* / Q000941:ethics* / Q000523:psychology; D004992:Ethics, Medical / Q000193:education*; D005858:Germany; D000068616:Professionalism / Q000193:education* / Q000941:ethics; D013663:Teaching
keywords: Anatomy; Dissection course; Experiential learning; Medical professionalism