DDG honors two female doctors with the DDG Prize for Academic Teaching 2021
11.05.2021 10:20
University teaching faces particular challenges in times of pandemic. In the field of medicine, too, teachers must develop innovative and effective instruments and formats even more than before in order to give medical students the best possible access to acquiring knowledge. With the 2021 Prize for Academic Teaching, the German Dermatological Society eV (DDG) is honoring two outstanding medical doctors who convinced the board of trustees with their successfully implemented teaching concepts. Honored are the Erlangen private lecturer Cornelia Erfurt-Berge and the Kiel professor Regine Glasses.
The DDG Prize for Academic Teaching honors teachers and teaching concepts that innovatively and successfully enrich academic dermatological teaching. “When the DDG launched the prize a few years ago, no one imagined how important concepts would become that would set new accents in medical teaching quickly, creatively and using multimedia,” says Professor Dr. med. Falk Ochsendorf, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
During the review and discussion, the members of the board of trustees were equally enthusiastic about two applications from the 2021 call for proposals, so the prize was shared.
Professor Dr. med. Regina Glasses, who headed the autoimmune diseases department at the Clinic for Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), Kiel Campus for many years, has continued to work there as a research assistant in research and teaching as well as in her dermatology practice since 2017. She impressed with her concept of “innovative teaching modules”. “From the (skin) doctor's office to the lecture hall: an innovative, practice-oriented, media-supported teaching project with supra-regional, interdisciplinary usage options“ is the title of the project. From 2018 to 2020, Brille was able to acquire two teaching projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) from the PerLe (Project for Successful Teaching and Learning) Fund for Teaching Innovation at the Christian Albrechts University (CAU) in Kiel. In cooperation with media experts from JuDerm/BVDD, ten educational videos were created and published on YouTube, in which common diagnostic and therapeutic techniques in dermatology are shown and explained, such as dermatological whole-body examination in skin cancer screening, wound swabs, biopsy taking, curettage, excision and Suturing techniques. There are also tutor-based courses that provide students with the ability to perform these techniques independently. Seminar lectures present different clinical pictures and show the important interaction between clinic and practice. There are also opportunities for internships in teaching practices and seminars on psychodermatology.
The members of the board of trustees see the project's great strength in the transferability of the tested modules. “The 'toolkits' can also be used at other locations and allow practical teaching even during the lockdown,” explains Ochsendorf. The teaching videos are also freely available and can also be used in lessons at all locations. “The project is based on a very high level of motivation and is able to get students excited about dermatology,” says Ochsendorf, summarizing the jury’s vote. An excellent concept and absolutely worthy of an award.
The second winner of the DDG Prize for Academic Teaching, Private lecturer Dr. med. habil. Cornelia Erfurt-Berge, senior physician at the dermatology clinic at Erlangen University Hospital, received the award for her innovative teaching concept on the subject of wound management. The pandemic has severely limited face-to-face teaching and the possibility of direct bedside teaching. In order to meet the students' desire for practical training, Erfurt-Berge developed together with colleagues from the SkillsLab PEARL (“Experience and learn in practice”) at the Medical Faculty of the University Hospital Erlangen in 2017, a practical course to impart knowledge of wound care. The focus is on practical aspects such as wound cleaning, wound dressing and treatment options for chronic wounds. In addition to the practical exercises, the course is characterized by a peer-learning process in which student tutors teach the exercises to their fellow students. Another strength of the project is the interprofessional implementation: medical students and trainees to become health and sickness nurses learn together. Practical courses like this remain the gold standard for imparting patient-oriented practical knowledge, even though online formats will increasingly complement medical training.
The board of trustees was convinced by the clear structure of the project (needs analysis, definition of learning objectives, clear, comprehensible planning) and the firm integration into on-site teaching. “We were impressed by the interprofessional implementation through the use of student tutors and the idea of joint teaching by medical students and other health professions,” explains Ochsendorf. This course could also serve as a “blueprint” and could also be used at other locations. The board of trustees was convinced by the excellent concept.
The DDG Prize for Academic Teaching is endowed with a total of 3,500 euros. The prize money will be shared between the two winners. The award was presented at the 51st DDG conference (April 14 to 17, 2021), which took place virtually for the first time this year.