The structure and the development of an internal medicine clerkship designed to promote proficiency in the process of clinical reasoning is described. A "student ward" offers a structured environment where the emphasis is on in-depth clinical exposure and the acquisition of clinical knowledge. (Author/MLW)

An exploratory study suggests that legal and medical training can have a negative impact on marriage: role behaviors learned during professional socialization and transferred to the spouse role are not conducive to a satisfying marital relationship, and student and spouse roles compete for time and personal commitment. (MSE)

It is important that medical residents be able to diagnose alcoholism prior to end-stage disease and organ damage. To assess their diagnostic ability, a survey was conducted of patients from the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The results demonstrated an underdiagnosis of alcoholism. (Author/MLW)

Five years of experience using the services of a clinical medical librarian at the Hospital of the Medical College of Pennsylvania are reviewed. There were increases in the use of the librarian for patient-related queries, research, and oral presentations. (Author/MLW)

Documentation has assumed increasing importance as more hospital boards require applicants to produce a listing of their procedural and diagnostic experience when applying for hospital privileges. It is possible that documentation will become an essential component of both graduate training programs and private practice. (MLW)

A case-based, problem-oriented, modular curriculum in geriatrics for medical students was evaluated to investigate whether: students would demonstrate cognitive knowledge gain, students' attitudes toward the elderly would change favorably, suggested activities would influence students' ratings, and which institutional characteristics facilitate…

The first systematic summary of predictive validity research on the new Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is presented. The results show that MCAT scores have significant predictive validity with respect to first- and second-year medical school course grades. Further directions for MCAT validity research are described. (Author/MLW)

A course, designed to illustrate the correlation of the biochemistry and physiology content of the curriculum with clinical applications, is described. The entire presentation, from introduction and interview of the patient to the correlation of the clinical application with the basic sciences, was managed by the students. (Author/MLW)

Self-report data were collected on measures of job stress, life stress, social support provided by three sources (supervisors, co-workers, and people outside work), and psychological health symptoms. Residents who perceive high job stress need to be identified in their residencies so assistance can be provided. (Author/MLW)

Graduates of the Medical College of Pennsylvania were studied to determine the impact of three types of preclinical training on prelicensure clinical performance. Academic performances differed as measured by scores on the examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners. (Author/MLW)

The teaching of clinical skills and the supervision of clinical education of undergraduate medical students were studied by reviewing students' patient-related experiences in required internal medicine clerkships in the United States and Canada during the 1979-82 accreditation cycle of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. (Author/MLW)

A prospective study using two standardized psychological tests, the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), was conducted to quantify the emotional changes experienced by internal medicine house staff during the internship. (Author/MLW)

The effects of a medical faculty development workshop were measured in terms of their students' verbal activity during regular lessons and the cognitive level of teacher-student encounters up to 500 days after the workshops. Both parameters showed increases following the training, for the entire followup period, with only a moderate decline after…

Several medical schools have sponsored courses on medical aspects of nuclear war, and faculties of medical schools conducting or considering such courses have many questions about the organization of their teaching. A survey of U.S. schools of medicine presentations of nuclear war-related subject matter is discussed. (MLW)

Reduced finances are pinching both the health care system and higher education alike. A health system-educational partnership must be created to examine the implications of changes in the structure and financing of health manpower planning and training. (MLW)