Theories of decision-making were used to study the differences between first-year medical students in North Carolina who preferred family medicine and those who preferred other specialities. Students who preferred family medicine were more interested in using medicine as a tool to help people. (Author/MLW)

The impact of pediatric residents on total patient charges generated in the outpatient pediatric practice of a university hospital was evaluated. Average charges for visits to residents were greater than for visits to faculty pediatricians. The difference was attributable to the higher number of hospital laboratory tests ordered by residents.…

The relevance of students' statements on career intentions to predictions of career choices is examined. Career intentions questionnaires were administered to the 1973 University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine graduating class at the end of their first undergraduate year and three years later at graduation. (Author/MLW)

Physicians' negative attitudes toward law and the legal system derive from the lack of understanding of basic legal principles relating to medical practice. The impact of required curriculum programing in legal medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is assessed. (Author/MLW)

Concern by the University of Washington School of Medicine that some students did not master the concepts of clinical reasoning led to a study of the class of 1981. Results suggest a significant problem with the acquisition and retention of clinical-reasoning skills in some medical students. (Author/MLW)

Findings are described from a controlled intervention that sought (1) to decrease the time demands on house staff applicants and faculty members in addressing concerns of the applicants and (2) to increase the interview time to assess in depth the applicants' special interests, needs, and suitability for the program. (MLW)

The establishment of a minicourse of four three-hour sessions devoted to the examination and debate of selected ethical issues at Queen's University is described. Students chose topics for discussion and organized debates between faculty and community members. (Author/MLW)

A study assessed (1) the validity of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine evaluation instrument regarding the occurrence of halo effects and (2) possible relationships between the faculty's evaluations of the residents and the residents' cognitive knowledge and productivity. (MLW)

The effect on test scores of changing answers to multiple-choice questions was studied and compared to earlier research. The current setting was a nationally administered, in-training, specialty examination for medical residents in obstetrics and gynecology. Both low and high scorers improved their scores when they changed answers. (SW)

A survey to review practices for reporting student performance with nontraditional grading systems, to investigate the methods used to recognize outstanding student performance, and to survey the attitudes of medical school administrators concerning the recognition of excellence is described. (MLW)

Many students planning to apply to medical school take undergraduate courses covering concepts that are taught within the medical school curriculum. A study to determine whether these students perform better in similar courses in medical school than students without prior exposure is discussed. (Author/MLW)

A procedure is suggested for test development and construct validation based on a theory about the criterion performance. The method is illustrated by describing a study concerned with the selection of medical school students, where the criterion is a measure of clinical problem-solving ability. (Author/LMO)

Contemporary medical students, it is suggested, view science in particular and the intellect in general as difficult allies at best. What emerges are physicians without inquiring minds, physicians who bring to the bedside not curiosity and a desire to understand but a set of reflexes. (MLW)

History-taking and physical examination techniques specific to clinical evaluation of the pediatric patient can be taught to medical students through a combination of audiovisual materials and limited bedside teaching. This combination of instruction was found to be as effective as and more efficient than a preceptor-type model. (Author/MLW)

The social and economic changes of Medicare and Medicaid broadened the patient base for teaching, universalized student involvement in the teaching hospital, and improved the care of both the poor and the well-to-do. (MLW)