Background: Balint seminars are widely used educational activities in family medicine residency programs. However, their impact on measurable outcomes is uneven and controversial. The discussions in Balint seminars deal with perceiving and understanding the emotions of the participants. Objective: This study measures the effect of Balint seminars…

Context specificity and the impact that contextual factors have on the complex process of clinical reasoning is poorly understood. Using situated cognition as the theoretical framework, our aim was to evaluate the verbalized clinical reasoning processes of resident physicians in order to describe what impact the presence of contextual factors have…

Studies of doctor-patient communication generally advocate a partnership communication style. However, in Southeast Asian settings, we often see a more one-way style with little input from the patient. We investigated factors underlying the use of a one-way consultation style by doctors in a Southeast Asian setting. We conducted a qualitative…

This study examined physicians' motivation to engage in work-related learning and its contribution to expertise development beyond work experience. Based on deliberate practice theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 residents and 28 experienced physicians in internal medicine, focusing on the activities they engaged in during…

A comparison of patient (n=181) and tutor (n=31) evaluations of medical student (n=41) behavior in an internal medicine clerkship revealed difficulties with patient evaluation of students. The process is time consuming and introduces tension between students and patients, and patients are poor discriminators. (Author/MSE)

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)

A total of 200 patients were interviewed at 2 out-patient settings to quantify the patients' perspectives on their illness by measuring their requests for help. Results showed specific requests were made by most patients that focused either on the problem and/or the treatment. (GLR)

The main objective of the general internal medicine program at the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for the Health Sciences, was to prepare physicians to have humanistic attitudes and skills in dealing with patients. A patient satisfaction survey was used to evaluate the program. (MLW)

A study of medical outpatients indicates high incidence of probable emotional disorder, limited physician diagnosis or record of these problems, limited patient knowledge of diagnosis or management plan, and little inquiry by physicians about personal problems. The results form the basis for a psychiatric education program. (Author/MSE)

How well internal medical residents understood the four modes of the interpersonal process recall system was investigated after the students had received training in this system. Students were tested before and after the course, that involved extensive use of videotapes of interviews. (Author/MLW)

The teaching of clinical skills and the supervision of clinical education of undergraduate medical students were studied by reviewing students' patient-related experiences in required internal medicine clerkships in the United States and Canada during the 1979-82 accreditation cycle of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. (Author/MLW)

A project to improve hospital house officers' recognition of important behavioral, psychological, and social aspects involved in medical care of chronically ill ambulatory patients and an evaluation of its effectiveness are reported. The procedure involved the use of feedback from patient interviews regarding patient satisfaction, medication…

In a survey, 1,851 registered nurses evaluated 232 internists' humanistic qualities, communication skills, and selected aspects of their clinical skills. Their ratings corresponded moderately with peer physician evaluations and had a common structure but were lower for several humanistic qualities. A reliable assessment required 11-15 nurses'…

The relationship between performance on a simulated patient and a real patient presenting a similar clinical problem is examined. Ten residents in family and internal medicine interviewed and examined four actual and four simulated patients and correctly identified 67 percent as real or simulated. (Author/MLW)

The way that residents in internal medicine allotted their time during patient management rounds was determined. House staff teams were observed for four days, and the time spent on all activities was recorded. The study suggests that medical educators should be concerned about the thoroughness of house staff work rounds. (Author/MLW)