Comparison of Wound Education in Medical Schools in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany

Objective: Millions of patients are treated annually in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany with either acute or chronic wounds. The purpose of this study is to compare how the medical education systems in the United States, Germany, and United Kingdom have prepared their physician trainees to deal with clinical issues of wounds. Methods: A retrospective study was performed in the United States by obtaining medical school curriculum data from the American Association of Medical Colleges, 2005. In the United Kingdom, data were obtained from the individual medical schools listed in the Royal Society of Medicine. In Germany, data were collected from a questionnaire sent to all the medical schools. Results: The total hours of required wound education received in the United States was 9.2 hours in the 4 years of medical school. In the United Kingdom, the total time devoted to wound-related issues equaled 4.9 hours over 5 years. In Germany, a total of 9 hours of wound education was provided over 6 years. Conclusions: Chronic wounds represent a serious problem for patients in terms of quality of life, lost employment time, and loss of income. Our comparison of the required wound education among the medical schools of United States, United Kingdom, and Germany demonstrated that all 3 systems are deficient in preparing future physicians to treat wound problems. We recommend that medical schools throughout the world devote a portion of their core curriculum to educating student physicians in the understanding of wound pathophysiology and treatment.