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…

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 examined the attitudes of 227 faculty and 148 house physicians toward the value of touching patients and their relationship to sociodemographic and job characteristics, previous exposure to and concern about human immunodeficiency virus infections, and attitudes toward glove-wearing. (MSE)

An interdisciplinary faculty of the University of Califiornia at Los Angeles School of Medicine has developed a behavioral science program to teach interns the interpersonal skills necessary for effective physician patient encounters. Curriculum topics include interviewing, problem identification, and situational stress. (JMD)