The early years of physiology education in medical curricula provide unique challenges. As well as inculcating concepts that are seen as difficult, modern curricula require that students learn in context in case-based learning courses. Additionally, regulating bodies stress that the soft skills of compassion, communication, and empathy are…

This paper reports on an interprofessional training initiative for medical students and trainee interpreters. Relying on a mixed-method analysis of 10 video-recorded simulated consultations at Ghent University (Belgium), the paper investigates which factors impact on trainee interpreters' (in)complete rendition of medical students' communicative…

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are highly prevalent illnesses that can result in profound impairment. While many patients with these disorders present in primary care, research suggests that physicians under-detect and suboptimally manage MDD and PTSD in their patients. The development of more effective…

Objective: The authors review the literature about educational programs for teaching sexual history-taking skills and describe novel techniques for teaching these skills. Methods: Psychiatric residents enrolled in a brief sexual history-taking course that included instruction on the Sexual Events Classification System, feedback on residents'…

The prevalence of Internet applications nowadays has led many medical schools and centers to incorporate computerized Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methods into their training curricula. However, many of these PBL systems do not truly reflect the situations which practitioners may actually encounter in a real medical environment, and hence their…

In an attempt to focus student attention on interpersonal aspects of medical practice, 31 students were trained to present the history and symptoms of an actual patient and then visited 11 physicians to get help for their "problem." Follow-up discussions were held to evaluate the physician-patient relationship. (LBH)

An exercise was devised at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London, to facilitate medical students' ability to discuss death and dying with cancer patients. Students begin with a written situation to problem-solve and then move into pairs and groups to reach a consensus and discuss the problem. A videotaped simulation is also used. (JMD)

Dental students were videotaped presenting a child's case presentation to a parent. Students who viewed a model videotape demonstrated a significant improvement in performance from their first presentation. Students who evaluated their own tape showed no significant improvement. (Author/MLW)

Students in a living anatomy course were divided into three groups--mixed, all-male, and all-female. Pairs performed most or all examinations on each other. All students felt preclinical examination of opposite sexes was important, but mixed groups scored higher in professionalism, were less bothered by sensitive area examination, and showed more…

Small groups of medical students are asked to enact a situation in which family members visit their general practitioner with a problem regarding one of the children, and the diffusion of this problem within the family is traced during the course of the simulation. Discussion focuses on the feelings evoked by the simulation. (Author/LBH)

The primary objective of a training program based within an internal medicine department at the University of Texas Medical Branch was to increase the interviewing skills of medicine residents, especially regarding the psychosocial aspects of patients. The program, evaluation methods, and results are described. (JMD)

To assess the effectiveness of a curriculum in telephone medicine taught to residents in two medical schools, objective structured clinical examinations were conducted before and after the curriculum was taught. Post-curriculum scores improved significantly, and gains were maintained six months. Residents felt significantly better able to manage…

Ways to teach three types of interviewing skills are described, including giving information to patients, handling emotions on the part of patients, and motivating patients. The students showed significant increases in their interviewing skills, but did not change significantly in self-assessment of their level of confidence. (Author/MLW)

A study compared effects of two methods of teaching geriatric dentistry: traditional approach based on readings, and computer-assisted simulation of patient interaction and clinical decision making. Although subjects (n=20) showed no significant differences by treatment, computer-trained students had statistically nonsignificant higher performance…

An intensive 3-week training program in medical communications skills for foreign native medical graduates (FNMG) is described. The program incorporates language and acculturation training via medically relevant, situational dialogues and role playing; training in medical interviewing skills with patient simulations; instruction in…