A survey of journal editors, scholarly press directors, and granting agencies examined definitions of excellence in faculty scholarship in light of Ernest Boyer's expanded definition of scholarship. Six standards of excellence were derived: clear goals, adequate preparation, appropriate methodology, outstanding results, effective communication,…

Discusses problems with the present system of recognition for clinical educators in academic medical centers including the requirement for regional and national reputation, the lack of reliable measures of clinical and teaching excellence, and the lack of training opportunities. Suggested solutions include changes in promotion criteria and the…

Applicant interviews for medical schools were examined to determine the degree, if any, of sexual discrimination. It was found that, although blatant discrimination did not exist, elusive differences in the evaluation of candidates were present. (GLR)

Discusses the importance of assessing medical students' competence in prevention knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Provides general guidance for programs interested in evaluating their prevention instructional efforts, and gives specific examples of possible methods for evaluating prevention education. Stresses the need to tailor assessment…

A modified Delphi process was used to survey program directors and medical residents to identify indicators of quality in internal medicine residency training. Items rated important by both groups included faculty characteristics such as stability, supervision, clinical skills, and teaching commitment; institutional support; and amount of resident…

The authors report their findings concerning the process used to evaluate medicine clerks, specifically identifying the importance given to subjective evaluations, made by attending physicians, compared with the importance given to clerks' performances on objective means of evaluation based on written or oral examinations, whether national or…

Sequential, standardized patient-based tests were given to medical students at the University of Maastricht (Netherlands); the first test was a screening test that evaluated the efficiency/validity of cutoff scores. Findings indicated that stringent pass/fail cutoff scores on the screening test produced optimal results. Fewer than 0.2 percent of…

Discusses the importance of the scholarship of application, incentives for such scholarship (e.g., readiness of funding for directly applicable research), ways to evaluate such scholarship (create a more expansive peer-review process), ways to reward such scholarship, and ways to nurture such scholarship (rigorous training in methodology and…

In a pilot study, two methods of identifying problems in the evaluation of third- and fourth-year medical students' clinical skills were tested. The two types of materials, questionnaires and a problem-case analysis, were found to be complementary, both identifying some of the same problems and each identifying some different problems. (MSE)

Analysis of the process used by a faculty-student committee to choose medical student summer researchers (N=82) over two years looked at project findings in comparison with findings of other-funded projects by rejected applicants and with the original proposals. The soundness of the review process was supported. (MSE)

Members of a research panel of the Association of American Medical Colleges offer guidelines for the development and use of measures to assess contributions of faculty, departments, and institutions to the research mission of medical schools. Reviews measures most commonly used and concludes that quantitative information can help institutional…

Medical schools were invited to provide written and Web-based materials related to implementing cross-cultural competency in their curricula. A tool was developed to measure teaching methods, skill sets, and eight content areas in cross-cultural education. Most programs emphasized teaching general themes, such as the doctor-patient relationship,…

An approach to testing medical students' clinical decision-making skills identifies key features (critical steps in resolution of a clinical problem) and presents a clinical case scenario followed by questions focusing on those key features. Key-feature problems provide flexibility on issues of question format, multiple responses to questions, and…

A study compared the costs of a six-station structured oral examination and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for a surgery clerkship, assessing both faculty and materials costs. The OSCE was found to be more time consuming and expensive. Cost-cutting measures and guidelines to assist medical schools in selecting test type are…

A survey of 101 medical schools in the United States and Canada found most had a centralized evaluation system for course and curriculum evaluation, and over half used oversight committees. Beyond the almost universal use of questionnaires, course evaluation practices varied widely, comprising different combinations of evaluation technique and…