Experience with a year-long tutorial for minority medical students suggests that cognitive problems of students having academic difficulty may not be resolvable without dealing with affective considerations. Recommendations are given for dealing with affective issues. (Editor/LBH)

Examined the educational linkages between medical schools and public health agencies (PHAs) through a survey of all 134 allopathic medical schools in the United States. Of the 108 schools that responded, 63% reported placing some or all students at PHAs. Barriers to PHA placement included lack of faculty interest and lack of designated PHA contact…

Examined whether supplemental instruction offered to first-year medical students reduced the number of examination failures. Significant increases in mean test scores were achieved by at-risk students admitted to the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1994 who participated in the Medical Scholars program, compared with similar…

A study investigated when medical students are at greatest risk of academic failure and which cognitive or noncognitive factors place them at risk. Subjects were 658 medical students matriculating at Wake Forest University (North Carolina) over five years. Results suggest the majority of academic delays occur in the first two years. Specific…

Results for 75 medical students and 248 undergraduates suggest that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator appears to sample only 3 bipolar personality dimensions rather than the 4 that the use of "type tables" implies. One of these dimensions shares substantial variance with the cognitive model of hemispheric dominance. (SLD)

Using a cost-construction model, cost of the University of Texas-Houston Medical School program, instructional costs, educational costs, and milieu costs were calculated. Sensitivity analysis revealed the financial effects of various factors, some of which increased and some of which decreased cost. Despite inherent complexities of the method and…

A study was conducted of 610 medical students to determine whether postbaccalaureate preparation before matriculation in medical school effected student performance. Results showed lower achievement on some measures of performance in medical school by those who had taken nondegree postbaccalaureate courses. Implications for admission decisions are…

Responses to questionnaires were compared between 106 students in nursing homes with those of 171 students in hospitals to evaluate interview and physical examination instruction for medical students. The nursing home was assessed as an appropriate alternative site for teaching the medical interview and physical diagnosis. (GLR)

In 1988-89, 170 medical school faculty and 227 students completed questionnaires at the University of Louisville. Both the faculty and the students were found to be fearful of infection, had strong negative attitudes toward AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) patients, and had low levels of confidence in the current knowledge about AIDS.…

Describes the development of a hands-on sports medicine training program for residents at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center. Education strategies include clinical teaching, on-the-field education, experiential learning, and didactic instruction. Programs focusing exclusively on sports medicine are needed because the number of…

A monthly journal club for residents uses detailed discussions and analyses of clinical research articles to teach the important concepts and principles of medical research in a manner useful to the practicing physician. Discussion is structured by a guide for presenting the articles to the group. (Author/MLW)

A model is presented for the growth of knowledge reflected by 24 progress tests completed by approximately 600 students at the University of Limburg (Netherlands) Medical School. Based on the Rasch model, this model treats both the person's ability and the difficulty of the question as random variables. (SLD)

Students were asked to state their selected specialty and to rank the importance that each of 25 influences listed on a questionnaire had in making their specialty choice. Selected specialties were classified into three groups: noncontrollable lifestyle, controllable lifestyle, and surgery. (MLW)

Residency program directors were surveyed to determine whether a standardized "dean's evaluation" form submitted by deans of student affairs on behalf of senior medical students would suffice in conveying information desired for the residency selection process. Program directors were asked to rate each subpart of this suggested form.…

At the University of Iowa problems associated with managing evaluations of anesthesia residents led to a major backlog of unanalyzed evaluation forms. A system developed at the University that enables ongoing feedback to residents and provides a method to assess the clinical competence of residents is described. (Author/MLW)