Potsdam/Rüdersdorf/Neuruppin, 15 November 2022

With the winter term 2022/23 the Brandenburg Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences (FGW) started a degree programme that is unique in Germany. Campus Rüdersdorf is the location of the new practice-oriented Master course in Health Services Research which aims to develop innovative solutions and recommendations to ensure person-centred care provision in structurally weak and rural areas.

MHB president Prof. Hans-Uwe Simon points to improved patient-centred healthcare for an ageing population in structurally weak regions as the main research focus of the MHB, and to care and health services research as the key methodical approach. He is greatly pleased with the start of the new Master course, after a preparatory phase of intensive planning involving his predecessor Prof. Dr. Edmund Neugebauer: “This is another major contribution to improving healthcare and meeting supply needs specifically in rural regions.”

Prof. Dawid Pieper (Healthcare and Health Systems Research, FGW/MHB), in charge of the new Master course, was happy to finally welcome the first students after several years of lead time: “Learning in small groups, intensive mentoring, personal contact with instructors and strong connection to current research issues and projects will mark the coming five semesters for these students. Founded in 2019, the Brandenburg Centre for Health Services Research with over 20 active scientists in the field, successful acquisition of third-party funding and numerous publications distinguishes us not only in terms of student training but also in research. It confirms our pioneering role and prominent position in healthcare and health systems research in the State of Brandenburg.”

The five-semester course is based on the concept of “blended learning”. This means that students have three weeks of on-site lessons in Rüdersdorf per semester and attend all further instruction units via video conference in the evening. In this way they can complete the course alongside their work.

A total of six instructors from the Brandenburg Medical School and the University of Potsdam give classes in various modules, for example on “Fundamentals of Health Services Research and Health System”, “Health and Society” and “Schemes and Models of Care Provision in Structurally Weak Regions”. Another specific didactic feature is problem-oriented learning (POL) where students are confronted with complex interdisciplinary assignments from practice which require action and reflection.

The new Master students will be officially welcomed at the Immanuel Klinik Rüdersdorf, one of the MHB university hospitals, on 1 December. MHB president Prof. Hans-Uwe Simon will attend the event together with Prof. Dawid Pieper as course coordinator.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Dawid Pieper, Professor of Healthcare and Health Systems Research
Phone: +49 33638 83992
E-Mail: dawid.pieper@mhb-fontane.de

Media contact FGW:
Nicole Steindorf-Rentzsch, Administration & PR
Phone: +49 331 977 297213
E-Mail: nicole.steindorf@fgw-brandenburg.de

Media contact MHB:
Dr. Eric Alexander Hoffmann, Head of Communications and University Spokesman
Phone: +49 3391 39-14160
E-Mail: eric.hoffmann@mhb-fontane.de

The Faculty of Health Sciences
was established in 2018 as a joint facility by the University of Potsdam, the Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane and the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg. It constitutes the core of the Brandenburg Health Campus and is expected to develop novel formats of care provision in medicine, nursing and medical technology as well as innovative courses of study. In collaboration with other institutions of tertiary education and research the Faculty aims to help improve healthcare in the State of Brandenburg.