This study examines the effects of a longitudinal patient experience on the enhancement of empathy in first and second year students attending Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC). The Longitudinal Educational Experience Advancing Patient Partnerships (LEAP) is a new required program at WCMC. Entering Medical students are matched with chronically…

The medical curriculum is vast, and students are expected to learn many subjects at the same time. Medical students are often stressed and find it difficult to cope with the curriculum. In addition, some first-year students find theory and practical classes to be monotonous. One of the difficulties faced by faculty members is, therefore, to…

Medical school accreditation requirements require educational opportunities in geriatrics. Twenty-six minimum graduating competencies in geriatrics have recently been identified for medical students. The authors describe how these competencies are being integrated into a new medical curriculum through coursework and community-based experiences.…

This study examined first-year medical student attitudes concerning the elderly before and after instituting a geriatric mentoring program. The program began and ended with a survey designed to assess students' attitudes toward the elderly. During the mentoring program, students visited the same senior for four visits throughout the academic year.…

Context: Changes in health care and new theories of learning have prompted significant changes in medical education. Some US medical schools employ immersion learning in rural communities to increase the number of physicians who choose to practice in these areas. Founded in 1971, the rural physician associate program (RPAP) is a longitudinal…

Project CREATE was an initiative to strengthen undergraduate medical education in addictions. As part of a needs assessment, forty-six medical students at Ontario's five medical schools completed a bi-weekly, interactive web-based survey about addiction-related learning events. In all, 704 unique events were recorded, for an average of 16.7…

This paper describes a module incorporated into the curriculum at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. The module helps the medical students see how their own feelings are inevitably involved in the doctor/patient relationship. A distinction between sex and sexuality is made and discussed. Sex is used as a limited term referring to…

Venipuncture is the single most commonly performed procedure that causes pain to the patient, and its mastery is a highly visible milestone both in physical skills and personal manner. A training program at Georgetown University Hospital is described. (MLW)

The Pediatrics Residency Program of the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, instituted a microcomputer-assisted information management system that provides the means for documenting the resident's patient contacts and learning experiences. Its role in meeting requirements of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in…

The Student Senior Partner Program (SSPP) forms the core of the required medical student geriatrics curriculum at the University of California-Irvine School of Medicine (UCISOM). The program utilizes a longitudinal modular format that extends over the first three years of medical school. Instruction is presented in didactic, patient interactive,…

A UCLA-San Fernando Valley Medical Program for training residents and interns in interpersonal skills is reported and evaluated. Using a modification of interpersonal process recall (IPR), the teaching technique uses both a structured course format and ongoing videotaping and reviewing of house officer-patient interactions with a faculty member.…

An institution-wide program for residents impaired by alcohol, drugs, or emotional problems at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals is described. The goal of the program was to help impaired house staff to continue their training in a nonpunitive environment. (Author/MLW)

Students enrolled in a behavioral science course at Washington State University were given the option of completing the behavior change project by functioning as the manager for a weight control patient. The weight control project is described and evaluation measures are discussed. (MLW)

At the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, a study was designed that graphically illustrated to beginning students that unconscious sociocultural stereotypes may influence clinical decision-making. Students were shown a videotape depicting five simulated patients, each with the same physical complaint. (Author/MLW)

The Technological Innovations in Medical Education (TIME) model, designed to be controlled by a professor in the classroom, incorporates voice recognition technology and video dramatization to create a believable patient encounter. A field test finding was that the students became committed to the care and management of the simulated patient.…