BackgroundScientific competencies are of great importance for physicians; not only for conducting reliable research, but also for patient care. However, there is growing concern that a lack of scientific competencies among physicians may lead to a deterioration in the quality on biomedical research. This study aims at assessing medical students’ perspectives on the implementation of scientific competency training in German medical curricula.MethodsAn online survey was conducted in order to collect German medical students’ opinions on the importance of acquiring scientific competencies during their medical studies and to provide us with an assessment of their current levels of basic scientific competencies by having them conduct a self-evaluation. Moreover, we wanted to understand their perceptions of current curricular content and to receive suggestions for improving scientific competency training. Participants were reached via the mailing lists of the German Medical Students’ Association, as well as of local medical student committees, and the German Medical Students’ Associations social media channel on Facebook.ResultsIn total, 2380 medical students from across all 37 German medical faculties participated in the survey. The majority of students agreed that the ability to critically evaluate the relevant literature is an important competency for physicians, and that every student should conduct a research project during their medical studies. However, the students evaluated their scientific competencies as unsatisfactory, especially with regard to statistics and scientific writing. They were strongly in favor of receiving extended research training.ConclusionOur study provides insight into German medical students’ self-perception in relation to both patient care and biomedical research, and makes recommendations for potential improvements in scientific training. The study demonstrates that scientific competencies are of great importance to medical students in Germany. Students are not lacking motivation for scientific practice and have numerous ideas for enhancing scientific teaching opportunities. Scientific training should follow a holistic approach based on three pillars: (i) a scientific core curriculum, (ii) intracurricular research projects, and (iii) special research programs for students strongly interested in medical research.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-018-1257-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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IntroductionAction on the social determinants of health has been key for improving health and prolonging life in the past, and remains so today. Against this background, WHO’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health has called for increased efforts to create health workforces trained in recognising, understanding and acting on the social determinants of health. However, little is known about the extent to which current medical education systems prepare graduates for this challenge. We, therefore, aim to analyse the extent to which the medical curriculum in Germany incorporates content on the social determinants of health.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of four key document groups which influence medical education in Germany: the national medical catalogue of learning objectives; examination content outlines provided by the German Institute for Medical and Pharmaceutical Examination Questions; the online textbook most widely used for final examination preparation and the full set of questions from two national medical licensing examinations. We will analyse these documents based on a coding system, which we derived deductively from the report of WHO’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health as well as other key publications of WHO. We will report quantitative indicators, such as the percentage of text related to social determinants of health for each document type. Moreover, we will conduct a semiqualitative analysis of relevant content.Ethics and disseminationThis study is based on the analysis of existing documents which do not contain personal or otherwise sensitive information. Results from the study will be published in a scientific peer-reviewed journal.

ObjectiveThe WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (SDH) has called for a health workforce trained in recognising, understanding and acting on the SDH. However, little is known about how current medical education prepares graduates for this challenge. This study analyses the extent to which the German medical education incorporates content on SDH.DesignFollowing a published protocol, in 2018, we conducted a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of three key document groups, defining and guiding what medical schools are expected to teach and what medical students are expected to know when graduating in Germany. We developed the coding system in a mixed inductive and deductive approach based on key WHO documents.SettingMedical schools and the medical education system in Germany.ResultsImportant gaps exist in the representation of SDH in medical education in Germany. Between 3% and 27% of the analysed document-elements made reference to SDH and only 0%–3% of those document elements made explicit references to SDH. While some aspects were covered widely (eg, topics of occupational health, early childhood development and hygiene), other topics such as health inequalities or determinants outside of the healthcare system were not or hardly represented.ConclusionsA stronger and more explicit representation of SDH in German medical education is needed to prepare the new health workforce for current and future challenges in our globalised world and for medical schools to be socially accountable.

The extensive discussion of health promotion and disease prevention in the coalition agreement is laudable. However, the agreements fail to mention a number of important approaches, such as the regulation of tobacco and alcohol marketing and food and beverage taxation. Moreover, many statements remain vague. Adoption and implementation of effective measures will therefore require the attention and political pressure from the scientific community, civil society, the media, and members of the parliament from both government and opposition parties. The mid-term evaluation of the coalition agreement will be an opportunity to critically examine the government's achievement to date.

ZusammenfassungDer aktuelle Reformprozess der öffentlichen Gesundheit in Deutschland hat die Möglichkeit einer Stärkung dieses Faches und des entsprechenden Praxis- und Politikfeldes in Deutschland eröffnet. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden anstehende Herausforderungen und notwendigen Maßnahmen aus einer Nachwuchsperspektive dargestellt. Notwendig sind insbesondere eine umfassende Stärkung und Reform der Aus- und Weiterbildungsstrukturen der öffentlichen Gesundheit. Zudem gilt es, Strukturen und Prozesse zu schaffen, mittels derer die Fachgemeinschaft ihre Expertise stärker und wirkungsvoller als bislang in Politik und Gesellschaft einbringen kann. Dies schließt den Aufbau einer handlungsfähigen Fachvertretung mit ein. Die hierzu in den vergangenen Jahren u. a. im Rahmen des Zukunftsforums Public Health begonnene Diskussion sollte zeitnah strukturbildend konkretisiert und in praktische Umsetzungen überführt werden.

ZusammenfassungIm diesem Artikel diskutieren Mitglieder des Nachwuchsnetzwerkes Öffentliche Gesundheit über Chancen und Herausforderungen einer gesundheitsförderlichen Gesamtpolitik, im Sinne von Health in All Policies (HiAP), angesichts der aktuellen COVID-19-Pandemie. Dabei werden unterschiedliche Perspektiven, vom Zusammenwirken verschiedener Politikbereiche, bis hin zum Öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienst, skizziert.

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