PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1639839
Undergraduate Scientific Education and the Decline of Postgraduate Medical Researchers in Germany?
Provisionally accepted
Philipp Stieger1*
Alexander Peter Schwoerer2
Holger Buggenhagen3RUEDIGER Christian Braun-Dullaeus1
Christian Albert4- 1Universitatsklinikum Magdeburg Universitatsklinik fur Kardiologie und Angiologie, Magdeburg, Germany
- 2Universitatsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf Institut fur Zellulare und Integrative Physiologie, Hamburg, Germany
- 3Universitatsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat Mainz Klinik fur Anasthesiologie, Mainz, Germany
- 4Zentralklinik Bad Berka Gmbh, Bad Berka, Germany
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The decline of postgraduate medical researchers in Germany reflects fundamental gaps in undergraduate scientific education. Scientific competence (SC)-the integrated ability to think, act, and work scientifically-underpins the academic pipeline, yet its curricular implementation in frameworks like NKLM 2.0 (National Competency-Based Learning Objectives Catalogue Medicine) and the revised ÄApprO (Approbationsordnung für Ärzte, German Licensing regulations for doctors), remains vague. German curricula do not distinguish Stokes's "knowledge" versus "utility" dimensions of research, nor Kölbl's pedagogical refinements, reducing SC to a technical adjunct rather than an inquiry-driven competence vital for clinical decision making.Student surveys reveal broad appreciation for scientific thinking but report scant structural support for independent research. Without clear, multidimensional learning objectives and longitudinal embedding-via modular research projects, protected research time, and continuous mentorshipinterest in research-oriented careers will continue to wane. We call for SC to be redefined as a core, practice-integrated pillar of medical training, transcending its current role as a curricular checkbox and securing the future of academic medicine.
Keywords: Scientific competence, scientific thinking, scientific working, scientific acting, Medical Education, postgraduate education, doctorate, thesis
Received: 02 Jun 2025; Accepted: 08 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Stieger, Schwoerer, Buggenhagen, Braun-Dullaeus and Albert. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Philipp Stieger, Universitatsklinikum Magdeburg Universitatsklinik fur Kardiologie und Angiologie, Magdeburg, Germany
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