Among findings of an examination of medical-career changes made by 603 Alberta medical school graduates were that more specialists (35 percent) than family physicians (18) made changes, that 42 percent made changes during the first year of residency, and that reasons cited included general dissatisfaction (47 percent) and lifestyle compatibility…

A study of medical students' pre-medical-school and graduation specialty preferences examined sex differences in selection of pediatrics at both points and changes from preference for pediatrics. Half those abandoning early preference for pediatrics stayed within primary care. More shifted from family practice to pediatrics than kept their…

Results of an analysis of initial career paths of medical students graduating with honors in 1972, 1973, 1982, and 1983 from nine prestigious medical schools are presented. (Author/MSE)

Senior house officers surveyed concerning their resistance to intern support groups found they felt residents wishing support were less competent than others. Most felt it unfair to require house officers to cover for interns needing support, desired support for all house officers, and wanted to also eliminate sources of stress. (MSE)

To help prepare residents in preventive medicine and occupational medicine for their future management roles, the University of Arizona College of Medicine incorporated administrative training into its residency programs. Training focuses on seven skill areas seen as needed to meet the management demands of the physicians' future specialties.…

A study of 92 medical students found that critical thinking skills, as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, were moderately predictive of academic success during the preclinical years of medical education. (Author/MSE)

A study compared freshman medical student achievement and satisfaction under two grading schemes: a four-level grading plan (honors, high pass, pass, fail) with two examinations, and pass-fail with weekly quizzes. Under the latter system, students continued to perform well and reported greater satisfaction. (MSE)

A qualitative investigation of the conduct and content of medical school admission interviews found that differences in the 10 interviewers' perceptions of the purpose and structure of the interview varied according to their professional background and amount of experience with the admissions process. (MDM)

A new outcome-oriented, utilization-focused approach to program evaluation is introduced. The new framework encourages stakeholders to consider academic dissemination, product development, and implementation as three primary outcomes when evaluating educational and clinical approaches. Secondary outcomes focus on education, clinical service, and…

Nursing (n=109) and medical (n=108) students from a large Canadian research university were surveyed to determine differences between first- and fourth-year students' perceptions of necessary competencies. Nursing students' perceptions of competencies important for medicine were more congruent than medical students' perceptions of those important…

Using an 18-item form, residency program directors rated residency performance of graduates (n=401) of a 3- and a 4-year medical school program at Loyola University of Chicago. Three-year program graduates showed less strength in background medical knowledge and experience using research data. The only marked differences were in surgery and…

A scale of course appeal was tested on medical students in preclinical courses. Results showed that positive (pleasure, satisfaction) or negative (anxiety, grief) student reactions were substantially correlated with an independent measure, the Course Valuing Inventory. In addition, different student adaptation modes appeared to correspond to…

A study of 120 third-year medical students investigated the relationship of role stress (involving competing demands of school and social and/or family life), social support, and sources of support outside or inside medical school. Results suggest that, contrary to expectation, social support corresponds to lower achievement, particularly for…

Text familiarity exerted a strong influence on the reading outcomes of 2 test groups (18 advanced and 18 high-intermediate learners) of Spanish-speaking medical students learning English as a Second Language. However, reading scores for the medical English abstracts, tested in three formats (familiar, moderately familiar, unfamiliar) showed that…

A study investigated medical residents' perceptions of the important components of the clinical teacher's role, and possible differences in first- and third-year residents' perceptions, based on comments written on 268 residents' evaluation forms of 490 teachers. Results suggest this methodology is useful and contributes to definition of the…