# Interactional competencies in medical student admission at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg

## TL;DR

Heidelberg uses a new interview method to select medical students based on their interactional skills, which are important for being a good doctor.

## Contribution

The IC-MD method assesses interactional competencies using emotional availability and shows their stability over time.

## Key findings

- Interactional competencies measured by IC-MD are stable over time.
- Students with strong interactional skills maintain them throughout their studies.

## Abstract

Since 2023, the multiple-mini-interview-based selection procedure Interactional Competencies Medicine (IC-MD) has been used in the Additional Aptitude Quota 1 (ZEQ-1) in Heidelberg. The IC-MD enables the identification of applicants who get access to medical studies through outstanding interactional skills. These skills are important for both studying as well as practicing as a doctor, as they are among the most relevant characteristics of what makes a good medical doctor. The IC-MD assesses these skills based on the concept of emotional availability and is evaluated by trained raters using a detailed manual. Data from a pilot study from 2019-2021 has now been used to analyze the stability of the measured interactional competencies (r=0.40) with follow-up assessments based on the IC-MD manual as part of the OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation) examinations. Results show that interactional competencies are relatively stable over time: Students who demonstrate excellent interactional competencies at the beginning of their studies maintain those throughout their studies.