2023/06/15 by Miriam Gisi, Gisi, Miriam, Vanessa Ferrari +9
Medicine · Psychology · #COVID-19 #COVID-19 and Mental Health #Innovations in Medical Education #Karriere #Medical Education and Admissions #Medicine and health #Staatsexamen #Stress #career #national board examination #practical year #praktisches Jahr #stress
paper · doi:10.3205/zma001635
openalex publication_date 2023/06/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/19
Background: Due to SARS-CoV-2, the Bavarian Ministry of Health decided in April 2020 to postpone the second national board examination in human medicine and to bring forward the start of the practical year (in German: Praktisches Jahr, further abbreviated with PJ) from May to April 2020. The different tertial times made it necessary for affected students to reorganise the PJ and rendered the preparation for the national board examination that had already taken place obsolete. As a result, students had to prepare for it again after the PJ and take it together with the third national board examination. Research question: How do students affected by the early PJ differ in their perception of the practical year and in their psychological well-being from the comparison groups with a regular PJ schedule? Methodology: =98) and took the second national board examination in human medicine in spring 2020. Results: For students affected by the early PJ, there were measurable negative effects on the choice of training institutions, the quality of the PJ content, preparation for the national board examinations, and career planning. Compared to regular students from other federal states, affected students reported higher psychological stress, with comparable resilience. Conclusion: It can be assumed that the insights gained apply to the entirety of medical students in the affected federal states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. As a conclusion, we make the recommendation to include the position of the students in decisions of great consequence.