Recent changes in the conceptualization of informed consent in medical encounters are reviewed to help provide a better understanding of the concept itself and of some difficulties in philosophical justifications for the requirement of informed consent. (Author/MLW)

The findings of a small pilot study, in which the perception of 16 obstetrician/gynocologists regarding their patients' degree of self-control as it related to medical problems, are analyzed. Findings suggested the physicians exhibited confusion about the concept of self-control and its applicability to patient care. (Author/MLW)

Obstetric patients rated the skills and assessed the roles of students caring for them during a clinical clerkship. They rated skills and attitudes high, generally, with lower ratings for their ability to answer questions and preparation to participate in care. Most felt students improved their care, primarily in supportive ways. (Author/MSE)

Patients can induce such intense emotions in physicians that these feelings can become a source of stress for the physician and interfere with patient care. Patient illnesses and conditions that caused dysphoria among three specialty groups of house officers were investigated. (Author/MLW)

The program and research staff of the Child Health Associate Program at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center modified the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory to evaluate trainees' interaction with parents of pediatric patients. The following qualities were measured: empathic understanding, congruence, and level of regard.…

Eight patients with stable rheumatoid arthritis were trained as instructors of musculoskeletal examination. Temperament tests were administered every six months, and those who remained in the program showed increasing confidence, competence, and emotional stability through the program. (Author/MSE)

As residency training programs attempt to integrate new educational programs, teachers may find residents less interested in learning about the psychosocial aspects of patient care than in the biomedical aspects. These attitudes may present barriers to implementing a curriculum designed to teach psychosocial skills. (MLW)

A review of American medical practice from 1876 to 1975 is presented in this Alan Gregg Memorial Lecture. Social and cultural influences are described, and it is concluded that the central and essential feature in medicine is the patient-physician relationship, in which physician actions should always be determined by what is beneficial to the…

A study to determine whether attitudes of medical students toward cancer patients are as negative as their attitudes toward the chronically ill found significant difference between attitudes toward cancer patients and patients in general. Support was also found for the existence of negative attitudes in the treatment of cancer patients.…

Students at five medical schools participated in an evaluation of a cardiology patient simulator (CPS), a life-size mannequin capable of simulating a wide variety of cardiovascular conditions. The CPS enhances learning both the knowledge and the skills necessary to perform a bedside cardiovascular evaluation. (Author/MLW)

A program of computer-assisted patient-management problems for teaching pediatrics is described. At each decision point, the computer provides choices or an opportunity for the student to enter a statement. The students review their performance, checking their choices against those of the instructors at each point. (Author/MLW)

A survey of patients in one medical center family practice residency looked at patient satisfaction in terms of: adequacy of explanations and time spent with the physician, comfort in expressing concerns about the teaching program, attitudes toward the teaching program, and availability of their physician. (MSE)

An exercise to teach medical students counseling skills for promoting change in health-related behaviors using trained patient instructors and immediate feedback was found to be more effective than using simulated patients and videotaped interviews. (MSE)

Four audiovisual programs about cancer and cancer treatment were evaluated. Cancer patients, their families, and friends were asked to complete questionnaires before and after watching a program to determine the effects of the program on their knowledge of cancer, anxiety levels, and perceived ability to communicate with the staff. (Author/MLW)

Medical records of 150 patients (randomly assigned to groups in which screening for depression, physician sensitization about depression, and informational feedback to physicians) were reviewed for physician notations about depression and its treatment. Previsit screening devices, it is suggested, may increase physician attention to psychological…