[Metabolic syndrome and depression].

The metabolic syndrome is defined as a constellation of metabolic abnormalities, including glucose intolerance, obesity, dyslipidaemia, and hypertension. It is associated with an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Over the past 20 years, a worldwide increase of the metabolic syndrome has taken place.

Effects of basic clinical skills training on objective structured clinical examination performance.

Objectives: The aim of curriculum reform in medical education is to improve students' clinical and communication skills. However, there are contradicting results regarding the effectiveness of such reforms.

Methods: A study of internal medicine students was carried out using a static group design.

Selective processing of pain-related word stimuli in subclinical depression as indicated by event-related brain potentials.

An intense discussion still exists as to whether pain and depression are causally related or independent of each other. To investigate processing of pain-related word stimuli in subclinically depressed individuals, we designed an event-related potentials study in a group control design. Pain words and neutral words were presented to 16 subclinically depressed and 16 control participants.

Role-playing for more realistic technical skills training.

Clinical skills are an important and necessary part of clinical competence. Simulation plays an important role in many fields of medical education. Although role-playing is common in communication training, there are no reports about the use of student role-plays in the training of technical clinical skills.

[Integrated skills laboratory concept for undergraduate training in internal medicine].

Background And Objective: An amendment to the German medical curriculum in April 2002 will place basic practical skills at the centre of medical training. We report here on the implementation and evaluation of an obligatory, tutor-guided, and integrated skills laboratory concept in the field of internal medicine.

Methods: To test the effectiveness of a skills laboratory training on OSCE performance a pilot study was carried out.

[Communication and interaction in psychosomatic education: use of standardized patients].

An amendment to the German medical curriculum in April 2002 will place communication and social skills at the centre of medical training. In addition to providing cognitive knowledge, psychosomatic courses offer the opportunity to integrate affective learning, with a focus on communication and interaction processes. In winter term 2001/2002 a training with standardised patients was implemented and evaluated as part of the psychosomatic internship of the Department of General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine at the Medical Hospital of the University of Heidelberg.