"DIE PRAXIS" – EXPERIENCES WITH EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS IN TEACHING OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE

Educational videos can serve as an innovative and attractive alternative to traditional tools of teaching, like lectures and seminars. Since 2004 we use the educational video “die Praxis” to teach students fundamental aspects of risk assessment in occupational medicine. The video lasts about eight minutes and was produced in a professional way by the Media Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. All actors were recruited from the staff of the Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine. The video shows typical working conditions in a doctor’s office, including common mistakes in everyday work. The plot contains 80 mistakes regarding issues of occupational medicine and work safety (i.e. blood sampling, maternity protection or ergonomics). Some aspects are shown in an exaggerated, sometimes humorous way, to make the issues also comprehensible for less-experienced students. The video provides a virtual inspection of a typical workplace, and can also be used to educate safety officers and medical assistants. After the presentation, the target audience was asked to compile a list of errors, and to evaluate potential risks related to this exemplary workplace (single-handed or in a group). This offers the possibility to stimulate discussion, to close gaps of knowledge, and to assess learning success.
In the last six years about 2000 Students in Mainz and many more in other institutions of occupational medicine all over Germany were taught with the help of our video. Their feedback and our experience are extraordinarily positive. Especially the participation of institute staff as actors, and a sometimes funny presentation of contents in the video seem to increase the students’ interest in our subject. For this reason we produced further videos covering the fields of risk assessment and psychological strain. Furthermore, it is planned to produce another educational video dealing with chronic diseases in occupational medicine.