Temporary transfer tattoos and their use in student teaching in dermatology - a monocentric observational study

The teaching of elementary skin lesions and the ABCDE rule are central components of undergraduate medical education in dermatology. This content is typically taught using photographs, moulages, or patient examples. Independent practice under supervision, however, is often difficult to implement in everyday clinical work. Standardized patients (SPs) equipped with moulages offer an opportunity to link technical content with communication skills.

Using temporary, two-dimensional transfer tattoos or three-dimensional moulages, a wide range of common skin and nail changes can be realistically depicted on standardized patients and integrated into medical student teaching. Questionnaire-based evaluations and the results of a clinical, practical exam (Objective Structured Clinical Examination, OSCE) were used to assess the benefit and compare the required level of complexity.

Eighty-six medical students in Leipzig participated in a voluntary small-group dermatology examination course to improve lesion description and skin cancer screening skills. Two-dimensional transfer tattoos specifically highlighted often-overlooked skin areas and supported training in conveying clinical findings. A total of 83.7 % of students reported a benefit from using two-dimensional tattoos. In the OSCE exam, no significant difference was observed between two- and three-dimensional depictions (p = 0.082; mean scores 22.54 vs. 23.28).

Transfer tattoos provide a simple and effective means of creating realistic dermatology teaching and examination scenarios. Two-dimensional tattoos are not inferior to more complex three-dimensional moulages when used with standardized patients in an examination context.