Aktuelle Trends im Leichenschautraining bei Medizinstudierenden

External post-mortem examination in virtual reality-scalability of a monocentric application

Conducting external post-mortem examinations is an essential skill required of physicians in various countries, regardless of their specialization. However, the quality of these examinations has been a subject of continuous debates, and notable errors were reviled. In response to these shortcomings, a virtual reality (VR) application was developed at Halle's medical department in Germany, focusing on the scene of discovery and the completion of death certificates. The initial trial of this VR application in 2020 involved 39 students and 15 early-career professionals. Based on the feedback, the application underwent improvements and was subsequently introduced to the medical department in Dresden, Germany, in 2022. Its primary objective was to showcase the VR training's adaptability and scalability across various educational structures and levels of medical expertise. Out of 73 students who participated, 63 completed the evaluation process. 93.1% (n = 58) of the evaluators reported increased confidence in conducting external post-mortem examinations, and 96.8% (n = 61) felt more assured in filling out death certificates, crediting this progress to the VR training. Additionally, 98.4% (n = 62) believed that repeating forensic medical aspects in their coursework was crucial, and 96.8% (n = 61) viewed the VR examination as a valuable addition to their academic program. Despite these positive responses, 91.6% (n = 55) of participants maintained that training with real corpses remains irreplaceable due to the insufficiency of haptic feedback in VR. Nevertheless, the potential for enhancing the VR content and expanding the training to additional locations or related disciplines warrants further exploration.

[Simulation in the elective subject forensic medicine in the third section of the medical examination]

During the COVID-19 pandemic the third section of the medical examination could be performed on simulation patients and simulators. Their use is also beneficial in forensic medicine, as a higher level of standardization and comparability of examination performance is achieved, and the use of real corpses is often not justifiable for medicolegal reasons. This case reports on the advantages and disadvantages of a simulation in the state examination in which a death certificate was to be completely filled out on the basis of an external postmortem examination on the simulator and an external anamnesis.

[Student training in forensic medicine in Germany: testing and evaluation]

Seit der Umsetzung der Approbationsordnung für Ärzte 2002 haben sich erhebliche Veränderungen in den Bereichen Lehre, Prüfungen und Evaluation ergeben. Zur Erfassung der aktuellen Situation im Fach Rechtsmedizin erfolgte eine standardisierte Befragung unter den rechtsmedizinischen Instituten in Deutschland mittels eines Online-Fragebogens. Der Rücklauf betrug 80 %. Die Ergebnisse der Befragung weisen auf ein Überwiegen faktenbasierter Prüfungen hin. Anpassungen an die häufig praktisch ausgerichteten Unterrichtsformate erscheinen hier erforderlich. Die Evaluationsergebnisse zeigen überwiegend eine hohe studentische Zufriedenheit mit der Lehre im Fach Rechtsmedizin. Famulaturen und praktisches Jahr können aktuell von etwa 90 % der Institute angeboten werden. Die für die Lehre zur Verfügung stehende Stundenzahl wird von einem relevanten Teil der befragten Institute als nicht ausreichend bewertet.