A comprehensive medical school faculty-development program should include four elements (professional socialization, particularly for new faculty; instructional development skill-building; leadership development; and organizational development) to empower faculty to excel as educators and to create vibrant academic communities that value teaching…

Discusses one approach to achieving compassionate medical caregiving, the study of spirituality and medicine. Examines the relationship between spirituality and healing and describes studies indicating that patients want to have spiritual issues addressed by their physicians, and noting potential health benefits of spiritual beliefs. Outlines…

A study at the University of Texas, San Antonio's dental school resulted in development of a system of caries risk assessment, applied to all undergraduate clinic patients. The rationale, structure, elements, and application of the system are outlined, and course content supporting the system is noted. Need for validation and other improvements is…

Hypermedia-based courseware used at the University of Alabama for optometric education is described, focusing on these key features: uses of graphics; interactivity and navigation options; and capacity for printing course material, including both text and graphics, for handouts. The system has been found effective in both a multiinstructor…

Three approaches to setting the evaluation standards for testing pharmacy practice knowledge of pharmaceutical students are discussed and compared: relative standards; absolute standards; and a compromise approach using various sources of evaluation information. The application of the different approaches to a 120-item assessment previously…

Describes the evolution of methods used in selecting students for the University of Southern California dental school's problem-based learning (PBL) program, discussing changes in policy based on experience over the program's three years. Comparisons are made with admission processes at some other health sciences schools around the world that are…

Microsituations teaching is a case-based, active learning tool developed from cognitive learning theory to teach problem-solving skills to large classes while conserving faculty and other resources. Since implementing this method in an endocrine pharmacology course at the University of Kentucky, student performance on problem-solving examinations…

A University of Utah first-professional-year pharmacy course on the social and behavioral aspects of the United States health care system was modified to include opportunities for students to enter service-learning relationships with homebound senior citizens who were clients of three nonprofit agencies. Assignments, evaluation methods, and a…

When physicians ascribe errors to systemic causes, they may be less likely to modify future behaviors and more likely to repeat past errors. Academic medical centers should balance protecting patients from errors that a systems approach can identify against providing optimal education for house officers by teaching them to focus also on personal…

Discusses the medical student characteristics associated with graduates' entering generalist careers, including initial specialty preference, geographic background, gender, age, ethnicity, economic/lifestyle factors, attitudes and personal values, service orientation, and premedical academic performance. Presents strategies medical schools can use…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This October 1, 2004 issue of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Ditch the Boyfriend" (Fleer, Elizabeth); (2) "Missing Summer Already" (Benton, Thomas H.); (3)…

This community college-based case study describes and analyzes how a new mission and vision adopted by the college trustees was translated into a facility master plan. The vision is designed to serve the needs of the community and facilitate economic development, especially in the areas of health occupations, biotechnology and…

This paper is targeted primarily at doctoral students and others considering hermeneutics as a research strategy. Research using hermeneutics was carried out with occupational therapy educators and clinicians in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the UK. A total of 53 participants engaged in focus groups and individual interviews over a one-year.…

Despite the growth in the elderly population, physicians with special geriatric training and certification number only 9,000 out of 650,000 doctors in the United States. The flexibility and increasing availability of the Internet makes it an ideal avenue for addressing the educational needs of health care providers to improve the health and care…

The first PhD specialty program in Geropsychology that launched in fall, 2004 at CU-Colorado Springs is described. Consistent with a scientist-practitioner model, the curriculum sequence builds systematically from basic to complex knowledge and skills across the domains of scientific psychology, research methodology, general clinical,…