Improving content and consistency on developmental disabilities in undergraduate medical curricula has been recommended as a means of improving health outcomes for people with developmental disabilities. Although often the subject of studies in Western countries, little is known about content on developmental disabilities in undergraduate…

Each year, the federal government makes a significant financial investment in the education and training of the U.S. physician workforce. A quarter of that physician workforce is composed of international medical graduates (IMG) and they include both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. Little is known about IMGs with respect to how much they…

Despite predictions of a physician surplus by 1990, graduates of foreign medical schools (both aliens and U.S. citizens) continue to flow into the United States. Secondary analysis of 1980 data suggests that graduates of foreign schools may secure their presence within the American medical system by selecting specialties where shortages exist. (KH)

The Clinical Skills Assessment Examination was constructed to test the clinical skills of foreign medical graduates. A pilot test of 635 foreign graduates, including 35 United States citizens, and 123 graduates of U.S. medical schools found 28 percent of foreign graduates deficient in clinical skills, consistent with previous research. (MSE)

The pass/fail results of 44 North American medical specialty certification examinations are compared and analyzed. Failure rates for comparable North American and FMG candidates were higher on Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada examinations than on equivalent U.S. tests. (Author/LBH)

Increased involvement by state and federal government in graduate medical education is related to the academic medical community's unwillingness to address issues of: manpower supply and specialty distribution, limited effectiveness of minority enhancement programs, and foreign medical graduates. Medical educators are urged to initiate solutions…

A study compared the 1984-88 test performances of United States osteopathic medical school graduates and Canadian medical school graduates with those of U.S. and foreign medical school graduates during the same period. Findings, limitations, and implications for recruitment and training of internal medicine specialists are discussed. (Author/MSE)

A survey of 50,273 practicing physicians in New York State gathered data on demographic characteristics, medical education characteristics, practice setting characteristics, and specialty practice characteristics. Highlights of survey findings include: (1) physicians are distinctively male (78 percent) and white (76 percent); (2) minority…

A study of the use of the Medical Education Evaluation Program, established by Ohio to evaluate clinical competencies of medical graduates of non-accredited schools, found the test to meet psychometric standards of certifying and licensing examinations. Potential problems with the test are discussed. (MSE)

A 1990 study of domain-referenced scores from a multiple-station clinical examination for foreign medical graduates investigated identification of essential checklist items, setting of minimum passing scores, consistency of candidate classification, and perceived appropriateness of the number of candidates classified as competent. Results and…

The performance of foreign medical school graduates on multistation standardized patient-based tests was used to determine the validity and generalizability of global ratings of their clinical competence made by expert examiners. Results suggest that these ratings can be used as an effective form of assessment in this context. (Author/MSE)

Objective: The author sought to develop a curriculum for international medical graduate (IMG) psychiatry residents that addresses their culture-based deviations from normative boundary-keeping practices common to U.S.-based psychotherapy practices. Methods: A group consisting of 12 IMG psychiatry residents and one United States graduate (USG)…

Comparisons are made of the results of administering the same Objective Structured Clinical Examination-type clinical skills tests to two cohorts of the Ontario Pre-Internship Program. A description is provided of entry-exit comparisons between the test results of the two cohorts. (GLR)

A study investigated test-taking patterns and pass rates on the National Board of Medical Examiners test (NBME) and Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in the Medical Sciences (FMGEMS), including trends in pass rates, proportion of candidates taking each test, and proportions of repeaters for each test. (MSE)

This report is concerned with the psychosocial and professional stresses of adaptation experienced by a group of 21 Peruvian doctors who have returned home to practice. (Author)