Background and objective: Physicians in Germany are conferred the title "Doctor of medicine" (MD) upon successful completion of a dissertation. There is no course in the German medical curriculum that enables students to pursue original research. CONCEPT AND METHODS: We sought to address this lack of adequate preparation through a student-organized, hands-on workshop, which was problem- and, in part, computer-based. The workshop lasted 16 h (over the course of a weekend). The chronological sequence of a dissertation served as the main structure of this peer-education approach and was supported by a 30-page handout. The following topics were addressed: (1) Search for a dissertation, (2) Legal regulations, (3) Literature research and statistics, (4) Scientific writing, (5) Practical work, and (6) Review of the dissertation. The participants gained knowledge about and started working with the appropriate computer applications for these issues. So far, 60 students participated in four workshops. Evaluations were collected through an anonymous questionnaire at the end of the workshops.
Results: 56 students responded (93%). 98% of the respondents would definitely recommend other students to participate in the workshop. None of them recommend against taking the class. Students' opinion about their own skills in pursuing a dissertation before and at the end of the workshop (range: 1 = very good to 5 = unsatisfying) was 3.4 +/- 0.8 and 1.8 +/- 0.5, respectively ( p < 0.001). No student believed that his skills did not improve. 88% of the respondents wanted the workshop to continue being optional.
Conclusions: This peer-education approach is cost-efficient, enjoys high acceptance by students, and improves research skills among participants.