Oldenburg. Last Saturday, the Department of General Practice at School V - School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Oldenburg hosted its third Training Doctors’ Day. Around 80 GPs from the north-west, who are already working as teaching doctors or plan to do so, accepted the invitation and took the opportunity to further their professional development. Prof. Dr Michael Freitag, Head of the Department of General Practice at the School of Medicine, was responsible for organising the event and, together with his team, designed the training programme. “Our medical students spend a great deal of time in GP practices: on work shadowing placements, block placements or even during their clinical year. Thanks to the high level of commitment shown by our teaching doctors, we are able to continually expand our network and offer excellent, practice-oriented training,” says Freitag. To date, the network comprised 130 teaching practices; now a further 30 GP practices have been added.

The regular teaching doctors’ day prepares doctors for their role as tutors and offers tailored continuing professional development for the various qualification levels of the teaching doctors. New teaching doctors, for example, receive training in supervising students during a one-week work shadowing placement. Experienced members of the network have the opportunity to receive specialised training for the block lab course or for the training of students in their clinical year. Another key focus is on the exchange of experiences amongst the teaching staff.

From the very beginning, the medical degree programme in Oldenburg focuses on intensive practical training that is unique in Germany – both in clinical settings and in outpatient care. The network of teaching practices is being continuously expanded. The School of Medicine is seeking further GP practices that would like to get involved in training students.