Describes student-led research projects conducted at the University of Florida's General Clinical Research Center. First-year medical and M.D.-Ph.D. students collaborate on a hypothesis-driven experiment involving students as volunteer subjects and investigators. Feedback indicates students find the program useful and that it encourages pursuit of…

Studied the collaborative strategies used in an experimental design task by 24 high- and low-prior knowledge of medical students in groups of 4. The high prior knowledge group used knowledge to help construct plans, evaluate actions, and stay focused. The low prior knowledge group was less systematic and worked at mapping the connections between…

Discusses the importance of changing cross cultural competence to cross cultural efficacy in the context of addressing health care needs, including those of women. Explores why cross cultural education needs to expand the objectives of women's health education to go beyond traditional values and emphasizes the importance of training for real-world…

Presents 24 articles describing innovative efforts in medical education in the areas of faculty development; developing skills as residents; and culture, ethics, spirituality, complementary, and alternative medicine. Each report includes an objective, description, discussion, and contact information for inquiries. (EV)

This study examined the experiences of nine American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in medical school with the purpose of gaining information about how to support students once they enrolled in medical school. In-depth interviews conducted while the participants were in medical school were used to generate data that were analyzed using…

Suicide and assisted suicide are not criminal acts in Germany. However, attempting suicide may create a legal duty for physicians to try to save a patient's life. This study presents data on medical students' legal knowledge and ethical views regarding physician assisted suicide (PAS). The majority of 85 respondents held PAS to be illegal. More…

Computer-based systems have great potential for delivering learning material. Here, a Web-based learning management system is employed by a medical university to support undergraduate courses. The objective was to help the university's staff to understand the readiness and attitudes of students to the use of information technology, their…

This paper provides insight into the reasons underlying medical students' interest in geriatrics. Semi-structured interviews, informed by attitude theory, were conducted with first-year medical students who indicated that they were not interested in geriatric medicine and those who indicated that they were moderately to very interested in…

In 2005, we were able to digitally record the so-called pharmacology songbook; a set of songs with lyrics devoted to pharmacological topics. A CD was prepared entitled The Beta-blocker Blues and its contents are now all freely available in mp3 format from our web page (Ewen MacDonald & friends, 2005). The web page also contains the lyrics and…

Some researchers have seen the capacity for self-assessment in trainees as a special skill, and some reports have concluded that this skill is positively and crucially correlated with academic competence. Thus, it is believed that those trainees who are most deficient in knowledge are least likely to be aware of their limitations. Other…

Objective: The clinical grade assessment is the most frequently used and heavily weighted component in the overall assessment of U.S. psychiatry clerkship students, yet the topic is understudied. The authors aimed to learn more about the nature, perceived virtues, and deficiencies of the clinical grade evaluation. Methods: A 26-item questionnaire…

Objective: The authors aimed to determine the extent and use of the 1995 psychiatry clerkship goals and objectives published by the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP) and to obtain members' guidance regarding their proposed revision. Methods: ADMSEP members were surveyed regarding their awareness and…

Objective: The authors discuss approaches to curricular goals, methods, and assessments in the education of medical students in psychiatry. Methods: Using current educational principles and opinions on curricular reform in medical student education, an outline for a core curriculum and an individualized approach to medical student education were…

Objective: Ethics training has become a core component of medical student and resident education. Curricula have been developed without the benefit of data regarding the views of physicians-in-training on the need for ethics instruction that focuses on practical issues and professional development topics. Methods: A written survey was sent to all…

OBJECTIVE: The authors assessed residents' perceptions of techniques used to evaluate competency. METHODS: Psychiatry residents from a single program rated 12 evaluation techniques for their effectiveness to measure resident competency. They rated each method for 25 selected skills reflecting the six general competencies. RESULTS: Sixteen…