The all-encompassing term "Medical Spanish" references the Spanish used by healthcare professionals. Medical Spanish courses have gained traction as the Spanish-speaking population in the U.S. continues to grow. Consequently, demand for courses in Medical Spanish and other areas of Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP), a subfield of…

Behavior, social, psychological, and biological factors affect health and disease. It is widely recognized that behavioral and social sciences should become an integral part of medical training. Integrating behavioral and social science into the curriculum is a key issue emphasized in many research. Despite the critical role of behavior and social…

The Decolonising the Curriculum movement in higher education has been steadily gaining momentum, accelerated by recent global events calling for an appraisal of the intersecting barriers of discrimination that ethnic minorities can encounter. While the arts and humanities have been at the forefront of these efforts, medical education has been a…

A major barrier to actualizing the public health impact potential of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is the suboptimal development and implementation of evidence-based training curricula for healthcare providers. As part of a federal grant to develop and implement SBIRT training in medical residency programs, the…

Multiculturalism is a familiar concept in many developed countries. While cultural competency training is part of most medical curricula, training in cultural psychiatry at the undergraduate level is typically minimal. It is important that medical graduates are both culturally competent and able to respond to the mental health needs of patients…

This article describes the use of a brief needs assessment survey in the development of alcohol and drug screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) curricula in 2 health care settings in the San Francisco Bay Area. The samples included university medical center faculty (n = 27) and nonphysician community health and social…

Objective: To develop medical students' skills in interacting with individuals who have limited health literacy. Methods: Described are 2 novel approaches to health literacy curriculum design. Efforts at both schools have been implemented to improve medical student awareness of health literacy, as well as specific skills in clear communication and…

A program of seminars designed to explore student perceptions of the emotional and psychological aspects of physician-patient interactions, part of a clinical diagnosis course, used graduate medical students to act as patients in videotaped interviews, interview evaluations, and lectures and demonstrations on interpersonal communication skills.…

This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of the Task Force on Cultural Competence Education and represents the distillation of the Task Force's efforts to fulfill its legislative charge. The report is intended to facilitate a statewide conversation about the health services provided to New Mexico's multicultural citizenry. It…

Initial efforts at the University of North Carolina to develop a social science curriculum that is relevant to medical practice are reported. Descriptions of course content, format, teaching strategies, and course evaluation are included with a focus on the question of relevance. (Author/JMD)

A program was implemented to expand the curriculum materials within the Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) Program at Clark County Community College (CCCC) which relate to oral hygiene care for the hospital patient. The instructional materials included a video tape and a written instructional packet which were researched, prepared, and presented by…

Describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a curriculum module on end-of-life care developed by medical students and implemented at Stanford University School of Medicine. The curriculum teaches students a protocol for communicating with patients when breaking bad news and discussing treatment options. (EV)

Venipuncture is the single most commonly performed procedure that causes pain to the patient, and its mastery is a highly visible milestone both in physical skills and personal manner. A training program at Georgetown University Hospital is described. (MLW)

A program designed to help first-year medical students understand basic medical ethical issues and view these issues as a essential component of their knowledge base in clinical medicine is described. (Author/MLW)

Some of the differences between in-hospital and ambulatory medicine and their implications for the teaching and practice of ambulatory care are explored. The availability of time, the role of patient cooperation, and the decision-making process differ in the two settings. (MLW)