This paper describes an Elder Specialist Program developed by one school of medicine to sensitize medical students to geriatric psychosocial issues. Elder Specialists participate in panel discussions as part of each geriatric session. As an alternative to traditional senior mentoring programs, the Elder Specialist Program provides all students a…

Though mobile technologies have been studied, their specific value in supporting work-based learning has not yet been investigated. This paper describes a small exploratory study in health care education in which medical students work in clinical practice. The study investigates both the perceived potential as well as the actual role of PDAs in…

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…

As part of a 6-week mandatory clerkship in psychiatry the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Arizona relieves one student each week of his primary inpatient duties to participate in neuropsychiatric rating examinations at the Tucson Veterans Administration Hospital. Advantages of this clerkship experience are listed. (JT)

Describes the use of behavioral techniques in the teaching of interviewing skills to medical students in one and one-half-hour lecture-demonstrations involving role play and discrimination training. (JT)

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)

Programs in emergency medicine are expected to become increasingly organized with the development of emergency medicine teaching faculties. A clerkship design with clinical instruction, classroom instruction, and evaluation is described. (Author/MLW)

A survey revealed that 32 percent of the medical schools in the U. S. and Canada with programs in family medicine provide opportunities for students to visit patients in their homes. Suggestions for improving and designing home visit programs are provided. (Author/MLW)

Describes the development of a hands-on sports medicine training program for residents at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center. Education strategies include clinical teaching, on-the-field education, experiential learning, and didactic instruction. Programs focusing exclusively on sports medicine are needed because the number of…

A clinical clerkship is described that was organized around the goal of teaching information and skills that would be needed by the nonpsychiatrist physician. The setting in an outpatient clinic and the extensive use of videotaped psychiatric interviews were successful program components. Field trips to various mental health facilities were not…

The structure and the development of an internal medicine clerkship designed to promote proficiency in the process of clinical reasoning is described. A "student ward" offers a structured environment where the emphasis is on in-depth clinical exposure and the acquisition of clinical knowledge. (Author/MLW)

Discusses assigning medical students to on-call clergy. The on-call clergy help cope with crises that arise in the hospital. The students gain clinical experience through the tutelage of the clergy. (Author)

A competency-based training model is presented which specifies competencies, achievement methods, and evaluation procedures for a clerkship in mental retardation. Focus is on developing practical skills and a positive orientation toward developmental problems. Evaluative measures for 12 students showed positive knowledge and attitude changes.…

Students at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York taking a required clinical clerkship in geriatrics were surveyed before and after the clerkship on their knowledge of geriatrics, attitudes toward the elderly, and evaluation of the rotation. (Author/MLW)

In an Ohio State study, medical students pursuing an independent study program and students in the traditional program performed similarly on part 1 of the National Board of Medical Examiners examinations and in their required clerkships. Differences identified resulted in curricular changes.(Author/MLW)