[Systematic aspects of problem-based, case-related, practice-oriented, professional continuing education].

Traditional CME using lectures has not been shown to improve patient care, which is the purpose of all learning in medicine. As knowledge taught mainly by lecturing is not useful for dealing with clinical problems, problem-based courses were developed to integrate general principles of basic and clinical sciences in undergraduate education. Case-based teaching is used for effective teaching of patient care.

Lifelong learning of physicians: contributions of different educational phases to practice performance.

This pilot study was designed to find out where and when in their education physicians thought they had acquired the competencies they used in their daily practices five years after completion of their formal training. Specifically, the study sought physicians' views about the relative contributions of seven major phases of medical education (i.e.

[Methods in continuing professional education. Results of a pilot survey of physicians].

There is not enough evidence, that formal continuing education can improve the quality of patient care. A model to support the work of quality circles by improving the acquisition of new knowledge and skills through problem-based learning in small groups was suggested in 1991. The results of a pilot survey carried out in three different groups of physicians and professional health care workers gave evidence that the model is acceptable in Germany, where problem-based learning is virtually unknown.

[Rational continuing medical education].

The goal of continuing medical education is to enhance quality and effectiveness of patient care and the health of the public. Everything helping to reach this goal is continuing education. Knowledge and principles needed to improve practice can only be acquired to a small extent by attending conventional lectures.

[Evaluation of medical education at the McMaster University, Canada, based on the case method concept].

Students of three different levels and the chairman of the MD-Program evaluated the educational system of McMaster University, Canada, using the six criteria of the case method as defined by Renschler. This analysis provided a very differentiated evaluation of the McMaster curriculum, demonstrating a systematic progress of learning methods from the second to the last phase. The instrument showed differences in the ratings of the demonstrative lectures between the chairman and the students.

[Quantitative determination of glia-specific proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with MS (author's transl)].

150 cerebrospinal fluids from MS patients (85 cases) and patients with different neurological diseases (65 cases) were investigated for their glia-specific content. The demonstration was made quantitatively by means of modified passive hemagglutination tests. The brain-specific glycoprotein was examined for its possible endogenous antigen and/or antibody properties in the cerebrospinal fluid (csf).