Provides 11 teaching guidelines for presentation of sociological material to medical students and addresses the problems of dense scheduling and competition for time in a medical school curriculum. Considers career implications for sociologists in this setting as well as resources available. (NL)

An instructional program in patient education skills for primary care medical residencies is described, with six instructional modules included. The federally-funded program, developed by the University of Wisconsin, was designed to enable physicians to better communicate with their patients about health, disease, and treatment. The six modular…

The value of comprehensive final examinations in medical school is addressed. It is argued that such testing should be discouraged when it involves repeating earlier content with new or reused test items. It is seen as valuable when it can be used to challenge the student to integrate earlier concepts in more sophisticated tasks. (JMD)

Notes the particular problems of teaching sociological concepts to medical students. Recommends using a game show format to actively engage students. Exploring their own group-based images, fears, and stereotypes, students discover what it means to be a physician. Provides the game format, dynamics, and preparation needed to play. (NL)

Discusses the two major forms of curriculum design in Australian medical schools: the innovative approach and the traditional approach. The innovative medical school has a problem-based, student-centered community orientation and has been the curriculum of choice in the newer medical schools for meeting future challenges in medical education. The…

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)

Compares the effects of two types of small-group instruction on retention and application of gastroenterology knowledge during a gastroenterology pathophysiology course taught to 198 second-year medical students. Concludes that the specific format of small-group instruction appears to have little impact on retention or application of…

A computer program that replaces a set of pharmacology and physiology laboratory experiments on live animals or isolated organs is described and illustrated. Five experiments are simulated: dose-effect relationships on smooth muscle, blood pressure and catecholamines, neuromuscular signal transmission, acetylcholine and the circulation, and…

This paper describes a 2-week curriculum designed to give graduate level physicians an understanding of the pathophysiology of shock and to enable them to diagnose and manage deranged oxygen metabolism in critically ill patients. The curriculum is predicated on an extensive needs assessment and addresses the unique characteristics and learning…

This guide, one of a series of publications written for medical faculty to use in designing substance abuse instruction, focuses on the teaching of alcohol and drug abuse intervention in medical and osteopathic schools. Following a brief introducton to the booklet, the career teacher program, which is supported by federal grants, is explained.…

Reports on the positive results obtained from the University of Kentucky's newly installed undergraduate performance-based learning (PBL) surgery clerkship. Favorable results include the PBL students' performance surpassing that of students in lecture-based instruction, and PBL students performing significantly better in the clinical applications…