A successful remedial tutorial for students repeating portions of the first-year program, including physiology, at the University of Rochester School of Medicine focused on developing problem-solving ability by teaching writing skills based on an essay model. (JT)

An academic affairs committee submitted a questionnaire to the 116 U. S. medical schools to obtain specific information concerning the existence of National Board of Medical Examiners' part 1 preparatory review programs and the organization and methods of such courses. Only 25 percent of the respondents indicated an organized program of board…

As part of a program evaluation, measures were made of the following variables predictive of the residents' performance in the program: personality traits; attitude toward psychiatry, willingness to treat psychological problems, preprogram interview performance, length of commitment to pediatrics, and frequency of interaction with teachers in the…

In a study of stress (tension, discomfort, or distress) at the Illinois College of Podiatric Medicine, 132 first-year students answered a questionnaire asking them to rank the level of stress in various situations. Current and anticipated sources of stress and their rankings are reported. (LBH)

Literature written since 1973 about the individual woman physician and the situation of United States women in medicine is examined and reviewed. Discrimination problems, identity conflicts, and a "typical" personality profile are some of the issues addressed. (Author/ KR)

Students admitted to medical school after three and four years of college were compared on seven admission variables and three measures of medical school performance. The two groups differed significantly on three admission variables but could not be distinguished on the basis of measures of medical school performance. (SW)

Retrospective pretesting is a method for inferring learning by using the students' recollections of their preinstruction knowledge in lieu of actual pretesting. The most significant problem encountered in such a procedure is establishing the validity of the inferred precourse level of information; attempts to deal with that issue are presented.…

The systematic evaluation of a curriculum designed to improve the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and clinical judgment of pediatric residents with regard to young handicapped children and their families is described. The curriculum increased the knowledge of various aspects of handicapping conditions and the tendency to characterize the children's…

Specific processes in problem-solving were examined in an effort to define them explicitly. Medical students were required to write problem lists, to order laboratory tests, and to choose a final diagnosis for each of five cases. They were given corrective feedback after each part. Factor analysis revealed more similarity in performance on the…

A measure of empathy for use in medical education in Australia was validated in this study. The Empathy Scale is a 64-item empirically-keyed self-report measure that is not oriented specifically to a counselling or psychotherapeutic context.

A technique is described that uses the perception of a wide variety of doctors, including specialists in the field, other specialists, and general practitioners, to determine what should be taught to undergraduate medical students. The Spivey technique is applied to curriculum needs in ophthalmology. (LBH)

The controversial issues surrounding the "Guadalajara Clause" of the Health Professions Educational Assistance Act of 1976 are detailed. At issue is whether Americans studying in foreign medical schools should be admitted to third and fourth year classes if they can pass part one of the National board examinations. (BT)

Two multiple-choice scoring schemes--a partial credit scheme and a dichotomous approach--were compared analyzing means, variances, and reliabilities on alternate measures and student reactions. Students preferred the partial-credit approach, which is recommended if rewarding for partial knowledge is an important concern. (Editor/JT)

In a replication study the Learning Style Inventory was given to over 200 practicing physicians and medical students. Contrary to previous findings, the results suggest that there is no association between learning style and career choice in medicine. (Author/LBH)

In the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences program, lectures are given on the recognition and general biology of dangerous reptiles and anthropods, the nature of animal venoms, immunological aspects of envenomation, and treatment of bites and stings. Both first-aid and clinical management are included. (Author/LBH)