Argues that medicine's standard of conduct can be applied to the formation of ethical standards for practices and policies in higher education. Offers sources for developing a standard of care for college students based on the body of research on traditional-age undergraduate students. Compares medicine's "tele-medicine" with higher education's…

Explains structurally based therapeutic evaluation of drugs, which uses seven therapeutic criteria in translating chemical and structural knowledge into therapeutic decision making in pharmaceutical care. In a Creighton University (Nebraska) medicinal chemistry course, students apply the approach to solve patient-related therapeutic problems in…

A survey of dental hygiene program directors (n=107) revealed that in associate degree/certificate and bachelor's programs, applicants, class size, and student achievement have declined since 1957 but student age and experience have increased. In addition, students tend to be female Caucasians. Recruitment and labor market implications are…

The Pennsylvania College of Optometry's experience in implementing problem-based learning, usually used in small classes, in a large group instructional situation in a traditional, subject-based optometric curriculum is described. Development of a modified approach, simulated patient problems, weekly quizzes, patient notes, large- and small-group…

The background, origins, functions, and recommendations of the American Association of Dental Schools' task force investigating improvement of access to dental hygiene training programs and of curriculum and program design are presented. (MSE)

A study investigated the effectiveness of using the Pharmacist's Work-up of Drug Therapy (PWDT) in teaching 91 pharmacy students in a clinical clerkship program to identify and solve drug-related problems. Because the instructional technique was recently implemented, the study looked at effects of 3 different quantities of training (0, 1, and 3…

A mobile eye care service is offered to homebound elderly residents of New York City (New York) by the State University of New York's College of Optometry. Fourth-year students are required to participate, learning techniques with hand-held equipment to examine a population with a high rate of ocular disease who might otherwise not receive…

An undergraduate track in retail pharmacy management was designed to prepare students better for everyday needs in community pharmacy. Multiple teaching approaches were used. Student response has been positive and enrollment has increased substantially. Graduate recommendations for course improvement are minimal. Course descriptions are appended.…

Shares some lessons learned from performance-based assessment in the health professions, using four performance-based assessment methods as examples: (1) written clinical simulations (patient-management problems); (2) computer-based clinical simulations; (3) oral examinations; and (4) standardized patients (live simulations). (SLD)

Attempts to improve a set of patient assault vignettes for a simulation by developing and testing a control version of the vignettes and exploring additional question and alternative scoring procedures. Influences of victim gender and assault severity are examined for 58 neuropsychiatric hospital nurses and 12 mental health experts. (SLD)

Discusses reference management software that is used for the storage and retrieval of bibliographic and text files on personal computers. Uses in health sciences are reviewed, selection criteria are discussed, needs assessment is described, guidelines for selecting appropriate software are presented, and a list of software products is included.…

A discussion of the financing of health professions education looks at a variety of influences, including enrollment change over the last few decades, federal involvement, growth in higher education, drops in federal and state support and the impact on costs borne by students. Possible directions are examined. (MSE)

To prepare for the significant professional, technological, and demographic changes ahead, allied dental education should develop teams of dental professionals that are cost effective, efficient, and highly productive. Team leaders must be educated to acknowledge each member's unique role and affirm the importance of mutuality and reciprocity in…

A study compared the breast cancer screening knowledge of 27 medical students in first and fourth years. In the fourth year additional questions were asked about training and training needs. Although students performed significantly better on knowledge-based questions in the fourth year, considerable room for improvement remained. Most students…

Describes the development of a multimedia library collection at Concorde Career Institute (Missouri) that specializes in allied health technical career training. Highlights include determining student needs, barriers to student and faculty use, instruction in library use, and working with instructors. (LRW)