A survey of 300 family practice residency directors found most chief residents receive no formal training or evaluation. Primary duties are acting as liaison and advocate for residents, scheduling, and leadership. Opportunity to develop leadership skills and influence curriculum are chief advantages; time pressures and demands are main…

Ideas from social cognitive psychology with potential for oral health promotion are presented, and a project to promote oral health at the individual level, offering a method adaptable to any behavior that should become habit, is described. Suggestions for placing this material in behavioral sciences and dentistry curricula are made. (MSE)

Examines poliomyelitis in the United States by reviewing clinical manifestations and outcomes, history, recent epidemiologic characteristics, characteristics of currently available vaccines, controversies surrounding vaccination policy, current poliovirus vaccination recommendations, and prospects for worldwide eradication. Poliomyelitis remains…

Dental education is recognizing the need for a one-year required postdoctoral experience in general dentistry to relieve overcrowding in the four-year D.D.S. curriculum and provide needed health services. Enrollment trends and projections suggest that the system can make space for these students, but planning is needed to finance the new…

A survey of 575 family-medicine patients in academic and community settings found most willing to have a medical student involved in their health care. One-third reported that students did at least part of the physical examination. Many patients said they would appreciate a medical student's attention. Almost half perceived that student…

A survey of 298 family-practice residency program directors found an increase in the amount of residency curricular time devoted to training on domestic violence. On average, programs provide four to five hours of training a year, mostly through didactic lectures. (Author/MSE)

A case study of an adolescent with catatonia superimposed on autism is presented. The symptoms of the patient are highlighted and include abnormal social interactions, deficits in symbolic play and in communicative language, and occurrence of hallucinations and delusions. Treatment of the patient with clozapine and lorasepam is described. (CR)

Rural training tracks (RTT) encourage family medicine residents to enter into rural practice. Studies reveal that 76 percent of RTT graduates are practicing in rural America and that graduates feel prepared for rural practice. However, RTTs produced only 107 graduates during 1989-99. Without significant investment, this model can not supply enough…

Suggests that exercise should be the first-line therapy for preventing and treating many common diseases; however, physicians need more training in how best to use exercise therapy. The paper explains the power of exercise and discusses how to motivate individuals to start safe, enjoyable, and life-saving exercise routines. (SM)

Examines Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), including: (1) story of a victim's family; (2) risk factors; (3) known preventive measures; (4) change in traditional behaviors to ensure infants are put to sleep on their backs; and (5) the role child care providers should play to educate and ensure the safety of clients. (SD)

Developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the electronic version of "Index Medicus," Medline is the world's largest collection of published medical knowledge. Discussion includes accessing Medline (cost-free) with a Web browser, librarians as links between patients and physicians; and examples of Medline searches. (AEF)

Introduction: It has been suggested that the use of opinion leaders in the dissemination of information may be an effective method of changing clinical practice. Recent reviews on this topic, however, have found mixed results and have concluded that further research is needed to explore the circumstances that effectively utilize opinion leaders.…

Born in Jamaica in 1805, Mary Seacole (nee Grant), was the daughter of a Black Creole boarding house owner and a Scottish Army officer. Like many Creole doctress women, Seacole was taught African herbal medicine arts from her mother. In addition to understanding traditional herbal medicine, she gleaned an understanding of Western medicine from the…

The term "curriculum" has been used almost exclusively in educational circles to refer to plans for the conduct of learning lessons in school classrooms. This paper argues that the concept can be productively expanded to describe learning processes in workplaces, including those in which learning is not the intentional outcome of an interaction.…

The papers presented at the 2004 Academy meetings can be thought of as pieces from jigsaw puzzles. While the employment of this metaphor over the years has been useful, we may be ready for a new image, one that is both more accurate and inspiring. We can picture ourselves working at different locations along a river bank. Some of us work upstream,…