Examined medical school education on relating to terminally ill patients based on data from national surveys conducted in 1975, 1985, and 1995. The number of schools offering occasional lectures or short courses on death and dying increased from 80% in 1975 to 82% in 1985 to 90% in 1995. (MDM)

A study used explored relationships among medical students' cognitive abilities, personality traits, and medical school performance at the University of California, Los Angeles. Results indicate it is not realistic to use one or two personality traits to predict personal suitability on all medical performance measures. Different personality…

Compared the effectiveness of pelvic examination training given to medical students by a laywoman who served as both teacher and patient with training by an attending physician with a laywoman serving only as the patient. Found that the laywoman-trained students demonstrated better interpersonal skills than did physician-trained students. No…

A 1993-94 mailed survey of 490 residents in U.S. Army graduate medical education programs asked the respondents to rank the most helpful and least helpful faculty teaching behaviors, based on the 38 teaching behaviors identified by Wolverton and Bosworth. Found a high degree of concordance in the rankings by primary care and nonprimary care…

Examined the effectiveness of family practice residency programs at 12 medical schools that allowed students to complete their first year of residency during their fourth year of school. Found that accelerated residents performed better than their nonaccelerated peers and national norms on the American Board of Family Practice in-training and…

Research reveals that successful problem solvers must possess comprehensive knowledge, and more importantly, have appropriate knowledge organization and understanding. A new taxonomy of medical problems is recommended, and it is suggested that the traditional hypothetico-deductive strategy for problem-based learning be replaced by scheme-driven…

The Medical College of Pennsylvania uses outstanding senior students as teaching assistants for sophomore students needing additional observation and feedback to increase clinical skills. The seniors are less threatening than faculty and may give more effective feedback. Both student groups are satisfied with the program. (MSE)

A 12-item questionnaire was administered in 1987-88 to 445 medical students, 133 medical school applicants, and 111 nursing students to assess any differences in their attitudes toward medicine-related AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) issues. The findings suggest that education has an important role in changing attitudes. (Author/MLW)

A study was conducted to assess the knowledge of nutrition of family practitioners and general internists and first- and second-year medical students before they had received medical school instruction in clinical nutrition. The physicians scored better on topics most heavily researched and worse on less heavily investigated topics. (Author/MLW)

Analysis of the process used by a faculty-student committee to choose medical student summer researchers (N=82) over two years looked at project findings in comparison with findings of other-funded projects by rejected applicants and with the original proposals. The soundness of the review process was supported. (MSE)

Found that experience-based educational intervention in which medical students interview volunteer nursing home residents significantly changed medical students' responses to two geriatric patient vignettes. Concluded that use of elderly volunteers in practice interviews helped to sensitize students to problems of aging and taught them empathic…

A national sample of medical students was surveyed to identify the ways the students obtained informed consent from their patients and to learn the students' views of certain issues concerning informed consent. All the students were less forthright about their status when given the opportunity to perform invasive procedures. (Author/MLW)

The paper reviews a construct validation framework for research on the selection and evaluation of residents. The application of the proposed methodology to surgery residents is described. The need to measure non-cognitive and neuropsychological factors in addition to cognitive knowledge and technical ability is emphasized. (Author/MLW)

A survey was developed and administered to residency candidates at the University of Massachusetts Coordinated Surgical Residency Program during interviews for residency. The top five decision factors were satisfaction of the current residents, educational philosophy of the program, general reputation of the program, operative work load, and…

Evaluation of 86 medical students and physicians, referred for possible learning problems, found that most subjects had either a learning disability or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); 21 subjects had a reading learning disability; and 15 had both a reading disability and ADHD. Sequential information processing appeared to be the…