Changes in attitudes of first-year medical students after a seminar on aging and health are described. Students' attitudes toward the elderly were assessed before and one year after the seminar. Factors in changing attitudes were: factual information, personal contact with sick and well elderly, and personal contact with role models. (Author/MLW)

A questionnaire survey at one medical school indicated that seniors viewed the elderly more positively than did freshmen in such areas as productivity, social significance, and sexuality. Overall results suggest that attitudes toward the elderly are becoming more favorable in society in general and in medical schools in particular. (Author/LB)

A study to assess how much geriatric medicine and gerontology was included in Part I and Part II of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) examinations, how well students performed in these areas, and whether the amount of content had changed since 1978 is described. (MLW)

Geriatric content in a medical school curriculum was assayed by surveying faculty course directors and students about course content, by conducting an independent review of course content, and by analyzing the content of course examinations. The students' assessments of geriatric content were found to be not valid. (Author/MLW)

A program undertaken to assess the feasibility of incorporating gerontology and geriatrics into the first- and second-year curriculum at a family medicine-oriented medical school is described, and student reactions are discussed. It is recommended that the teaching of gerontology and geriatrics begin the first year. (Author/MLW)

A required eight-week rotation in ambulatory medicine at three clinics that included house calls by medical students is described. The students' evaluation of the curriculum provided information on the effectiveness to teaching strategies and the success of transmitting knowledge about the homebound elderly. (Author/MLW)

Research findings have demonstrated the relevance of a home care experience for teaching the interactions of the social, psychological, environmental, and biological factors that characterize chronic illness. Research was conducted in the Home Care Program at the University of California, San Francisco. (Author/MLW)

A pilot project to explore the feasibility of using the clinical Adult Service Psychiatry Consultation-Liaison Program at the University of Michigan as the locus for teaching medical gerontology to psychiatric and medical/surgical residents and medical students is described. The goals, techniques, content, and implementation procedures are…