General Practice has changed over the past decade. Expansion of clinicians' roles may create uncertainty, stress, and overload - particular for those at the start of their career. The WONCA Europe network for medical education, EURACT, has published competency-based aims and requirements for speciality training in general practice. Greater understanding of the trainee perspective would support planning and delivery of postgraduate training curricula. This two-step study aims to provide a competency priority list, created by European early career general practitioners, to highlight skills that this generation considers highly essential in future speciality training. A competency list was drafted with trainee- and early career general practitioners from across Europe at the Vasco da Gama Movement Forum (Edinburgh, January 2022). Participants identified competencies that they regarded as most relevant for future speciality training in their respective national contexts. Competencies were coded into categories and ranked in two consecutive rounds, the first taking place online and the second at WONCA Europe (London, June 2022). After two rounds, a consensual list of three main competencies for each category was drafted. The top three competencies for each category remained the same throughout both rounds and may be considered competencies that early career general practitioners in Europe consider important for training. Prioritisation of these competencies by institutions and educators within general practice training GB AJ, Crebolder H, et al. may support trainees' satisfaction and perceived preparedness for practice.

Objectives: Medical education has been revolutionized by the growing importance of digital learning. Little is known about students' online study behaviour and its relationship with exam performance. This quantitative study analyses and describes students' digital learning behaviours in a blended learning curriculum for General practice at Saarland University, Germany. It also examines the relationship between digital learning behaviour and exam performance.Methods: Cohort and individualized AMBOSS (R) user data from 195 students at Saarland University was analysed quantitatively. Performance in course-specific multiple-choice question sessions and user data of the integrated online learning activities were correlated with each other and with General practice exam grades. Anonymized data from 10,534 students from 35 other German universities served as the reference cohort. Differences in digital learning behaviour between the groups were calculated using Mann-Whitney-U-Test for non-normally distributed data.Results: Students in the blended learning course used integrated content more frequently than the reference cohort (U=48777, p<0.001). The number of digital learning cards read correlated moderately with digital formative assessment performance (rho=0.331, p=0.005 and rho=0.217, p=0.034). Formative assessment scores and exam results correlated strongly in the summer semester cohort (rho=0.505, p<0.001), and moderately in the winter semester cohort (rho=0.381, p<0.001).Conclusion: There is a difference in the usage of online learning activities when they are purposefully integrated into a curriculum. Digital learning activities including formative assessment may serve as valuable, constructively aligned exam preparation. This is relevant for medical educators when planning future blended learning curricula and portfolio systems, as it may save financial and human resources.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Die geplante Reform des Medizinstudiums in Deutschland hat das Potenzial, die akademische Rolle der Allgemeinmedizin stark zu verändern. Der neue Nationale Kompetenzbasierte Lernzielkatalog für das Medizinstudium (NKLM 2.0) stellt die inhaltliche Grundlage des Reformvorschlags dar und richtet die Ausbildung an deutschen medizinischen Fakultäten auf kompetenzbasiertes Lernen aus. Welche allgemeinmedizinisch relevanten Kompetenzen Studierende aktuell während des Studiums konkret erleben und wann das passiert, ist jedoch weitgehend unbekannt. Zielsetzung Ziel dieser Studie ist es, das Kompetenzerleben in allgemeinmedizinisch relevanten Kompetenzen sowie die Wunschausprägung nach kompetenzfördernden Lernangeboten zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten des Medizinstudiums an der Universität des Saarlandes (UdS) zu beschreiben. Material und Methoden Bei der Studie handelt es sich um eine gleichzeitige explorative Mixed-Methods-Studie. 129 Medizinstudierende des 1. bis 10. Semesters der Universität des Saarlandes wurden anonym zu 29 allgemeinmedizinischen Lernzielen aus dem NKLM 2.0 mittels Fragebogen befragt. Anschließend wurden mit 9 Studierenden halbstrukturierte Interviews geführt. Diese wurden mittels qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse ausgewertet. Ergebnisse und Diskussion Das Kompetenzerleben in den allgemeinmedizinisch relevanten Kompetenzen veränderte sich zu unterschiedlichen Studienzeitpunkten nicht signifikant. Bei vielen der Lernziele fühlten sich die Studierenden zu jedem Zeitpunkt des Studiums inkompetent. Die Wunschausprägung nach Lernangeboten bleibt während des Medizinstudiums konstant. Die Studierenden sahen ihren Lernzuwachs am stärksten während der Praktika und in den Wahlfächern. Die allgemeinmedizinischen Lehrangebote der UdS wurden von den Teilnehmenden als hilfreich beim Kompetenzerwerb empfunden. Die Ergebnisse unterstreichen die Bedeutung von allgemeinmedizinischen Praktika für den Erwerb praktischer Fähigkeiten und sind ein Plädoyer für mehr kompetenzfördernde Lernangebote in allgemeinmedizinischen Curricula.

(1) Podcasts are increasingly used in undergraduate medical education. They differ from traditional learning activities and may influence exam performance. Podcasts also offer insights into learning behaviour and perceptions of family medicine (FM). Despite their frequent use in medical education, it remains unclear how they can best be integrated into competency-based curricula and motivate students to study for FM. This study examines the impact of a medical podcast on learning behaviour and academic performance at Saarland University (UdS). (2) This exploratory mixed-methods study analyzed podcast-related learning behaviour and exam relevance among year-five medical students at UdS in the winter semester 2024/25. Demographic, quantitative, and qualitative data were collected via an online questionnaire (Google Forms^®) in January 2025. Data were descriptively and analytically evaluated and linked to exam results. Qualitative data were analyzed using Kuckartz’s content analysis. (3) Of 123 eligible students, 92 participated. Most listened to episodes in full. Podcasts were seen as low-threshold means to access study content, but they were often not perceived as a separate learning activity. Listening to podcasts did not directly influence exam performance but helped connecting theory with clinical relevance and increased motivation for FM. (4) Podcasts are popular for exploring clinical practice and complex topics. Their didactic value lies in contextual learning and career orientation, rather than improving exam performance.

(1) Background: The evolving demands of general practice have increased stress, workload, and fatigue among patients and doctors. In 2022, the European Young Family Doctors Movement (EYFDM) identified wellbeing as a key competency for future GPs. This study primarily explored the perspectives of early-career GPs on integrating wellbeing in general practice training. (2) Methods: A concurrent mixed-methods approach combined a quantitative survey with a town hall discussion at the EYFDM workshop during WONCA Europe 2023 in Brussels. The meeting included brainstorming, subgroup discussions, and synthesis of findings. Subgroup discussions among young GPs and GP trainees were recorded, analyzed using content analysis, and validated through two rounds of stakeholder consultation. (3) Results: Participants advocated for mandatory wellbeing-focused timeslots during training with flexible, self-selected learning activities. Proposals included a toolbox with individual, group, and supervised options. A cultural shift towards prioritizing wellbeing as part of professional development was unanimously supported. Senior GP involvement was seen as crucial for driving this change, alongside wellbeing training for coaches and role models. (4) Conclusions: GP trainees across Europe emphasize the need for greater focus on wellbeing in training, supported by a generational cultural shift. Voluntary, diverse learning activities (toolbox) and role-modeling activities with experienced GPs may support wellbeing to be embedded as a core competency in general practice.