[Social medicine in the ecology curriculum--Leipzig experiences with a social medicine practicum]

Apart from only offering lectures, Leipzig university introduced, within the scope of the "Ecological course", a newly outlined practical training in the field of social medicine. The topics of this practical training were: living with handicaps: chronic illness; psychosocial problems. The training consisted of two seminars and one attendance at disabled persons' unions and self-help groups. In addition to that, extern experts held lectures on the feasibility of rehabilitation. Each team, consisting of 3-5 students, was expected to write a report on their attendance in order to prove their efforts. Later on, these reports suppled the basis for discussion in the second seminar. The high quality of these reports clearly shows the students' interest in this kind of training. Some especially interested students took an active part in a final scientific colloquium, delivering their own lecture reports. Summing up, this teaching concept proved truly successful and should be continued.