Stress is experienced by college students at different educational levels, but colleges can help reduce its destructive forms. There are explanations of why students perform badly under stress, such as "hypervigilance" (i.e., overstudying for an exam) and "premature closure" (i.e., rushing through an exam). Situations that are…

This study analyzed the relationship between selecting critical errors (choices that would be dangerous to patients) and conventional test scores on a medical school certifying examination that included three item formats: regular and weighted multiple-choice questions and patient management problems. Data from a Clinical Certifying Examination…

An intervention program employing test-skills instruction and cooperative learning methods was presented to second year minority medical students at a major state supported medical school. The purpose was to enhance minority students' passing rate for Part I of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) examination. After completion of the…

The relationships among variables for a group of first year medical students were examined. The variables included previous test-taking experience, test-taking training, test anxiety, and level of test wiseness. The study also provided initial normative data concerning the level of test anxiety among entering medical students for comparison with…

The effects of the randomization of information in clinical cases on the comprehension of 16 physicians and 16 medical students were studied, using structured and unstructured forms of two clinical cases. Attention was directed to the effects of case difficulty and text structure on representations of cases in written protocols, ability to access…

Ratings of clinical competence during residency were undertaken for graduates of two medical schools. Near the end of the first year of residency, supervisor ratings were made of 13 variables for 320 graduates in seven classes at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and one class at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. Principal…

The prevalence of writing errors made by third-year medical students from the class of 1981 at a large midwestern medical school was studied. The papers of 253 students taking family medicine were evaluated for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Four types of grammar errors and seven punctuation errors were analyzed, and each word…

An exploratory factor analysis is used in the study of institutional preferences in medical student admissions. Sources and mathematical derivations of 58 institutional variables are presented. Most of the measures describe attributes related to the admission process. The remainder were selected to represent other dimensions along which medical…

Reports a study comparing test scores, study time, and attitudes of students having audio-based self-instruction and those having lecture instruction. (JT)

Proposes a plan by which medical students could take a final examination 80 percent of the way through a course, allowing students to learn in their own way with more efficient use of teacher time and less stress of terminal exams because all students would have two chances without penalty. (JT)

While the national study reported here reveals recent medical school attrition rates to be lower than for 1949-58 entrants, the rate for women and underrepresented minorities is still less than for white males, although the gap appears to be narrowing. Recommendations for optimum retention are included. (Editor/JT)

A demonstrated model for effective instructional skill improvement in the medical clinical sciences is described. A two-year project was funded by the National Fund for Medical Education to design and implement a program to assist house staff in the improvement of clinical instruction. A total of 148 medical residents were surveyed about their…

Thirty-six students participated in a study of a program designed to help first-year medical students construct an ideational scaffolding as they attempted to understand their texts. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group that was given an instructional program on how to develop a hierarchical structure while reading, and a…

To help determine the role that test instrument formats play in evaluation, two parallel examinations were given to 227 second-year medical students. The tests were based on information presented in a medical case history. One required students to generate their own problem lists (the generate group); the other required the students to select…

THIS PROJECT ATTEMPTED TO DETERMINE IF NUMERICAL SCORING SYSTEMS FOR CLINICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING TESTS COULD BE DEVELOPED WHICH WOULD MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS IN TEACHING CLINICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS. THE PROJECT WAS TO VALIDATE AND CROSS-VALIDATE THE SCORING SYSTEMS BY TESTS OF POPULATION SAMPLES OF KNOWN…