Details a study that focused on assessing changes in attitudes during and after a practical course in doctor-patient communication within a biomedically oriented curriculum. Results indicate that female students are more patient. Contains 49 references. (DDR)

Describes the development and implementation of a World Wide Web-based electronic evaluation system for the internal medicine residency program at the University of Minnesota. Features include automatic entry of evaluations by faculty or students into a database, compliance tracking, reminders, extensive reporting capabilities, automatic…

Evaluated a project that paired first and second year medical students with elementary classrooms to help the medical students improve their communication skills by teaching children about health and to support teachers in promoting and teaching health. Comparisons of these classrooms with control classrooms indicated that the program improved…

Dr. Keith Amos' undying support for his undergrad alma mater, Xavier University of Louisiana, took an unusual turn last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Amos, who graduated from Harvard Medical School after earning his bachelor's from Xavier, also served as a mentor and advisor for Xavier students whose plans for applying to medical…

Kohlberg's theory of moral development explores the roles of cognition and emotion but focuses primarily on cognition. Contemporary post-formal theories lead to the conclusion that skills resulting from cognitive-affective integration facilitate consistency between moral judgement and moral behaviour. Rest's four-component model of moral…

In this study we examine medical interview asymmetry using the expectation states approach. Physicians lead clinical interviews because of a feature inherent in those interviews, namely the status difference between doctor and patient. This power differential varies: it is greatest when the biomedical aspects of the interview are emphasized. These…

Purpose: To examine the validity of using scores from a clinical evaluation form as an assessment of clinical competence. Method: Investigators collected a longitudinal clinical skills assessment database that included scores reflecting performance on standardized patient interactions, case-based learning performance, scores on multiple-choice…

Objective: Universally, clerkship grading is diverse and not standardized. The authors' faculty was troubled by the inability to provide meaningful evaluations, as more than 60% of students received the highest grade. Although a psychiatry clerkship mandate of a faculty-observed student clinical interview existed for several years, the majority of…

Objective: The authors discuss the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed for a resident to be competent in supporting and working with families, as mandated by the residency review committee (RRC) core competencies. Methods: The RRC core competencies, as they relate to patients and their families, are reviewed. The Group for Advancement of…

Objective: This study examines medical students' attitudes about mental illness before and after a six-week psychiatry rotation. Methods: Six hundred seventy-two third-year students at Indiana University completed pre- and postrotation surveys assessing attitudes about causes and treatments of mental illness. We conducted paired sample t tests to…

Objective: Demonstrating psychotherapy competency in trainees will test the resources of psychiatry training programs. The authors outline the phases of team-based learning (TBL). Methods: The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Tulsa (OUCM-T), Department of Psychiatry reorganized its psychodynamic psychotherapy didactic course using TBL.…

Objective: To determine that portfolios, useable by any program, can provide needed evidence of resident performance within the ACGME general competencies. Methods: Eighteen residents constructed portfolios with selected entries from thirteen psychiatric skills. Two raters assessed whether entries reflected resident performance within the general…

Objective: Residents are at a higher risk than the general population for the development of stress-related problems, depression, or suicide. The authors describe a curriculum for educating PGY-1s and residency program directors about physician impairment. Methods: A resident wellness program was established with the goals of preventing resident…

Training psychiatric residents to address cross-cultural issues in their practice of psychiatry is a necessary objective of contemporary psychiatric education. Cultural issues play a critical role in the formation and expression of a patient's personality. In addition, they are a major determinant of the context in which mental illness develops.…

Introduction: In group learning settings like problem-based learning (PBL), the quality of interaction is closely related to group success. However, research and practice have shown that the interaction in tutorial groups is not optimal. In the present study, a questionnaire was used to measure students' perceptions of occurrence and desirability…