This paper explores the effect of reviewing items and altering responses on the efficiency of computer adaptive tests (CATs) and the resultant ability measures of examinees. Subjects included 712 medical students: 220 subjects were randomly assigned to the review condition; 492 were randomly assigned to a review control condition (the usual CAT…

In the course of developing a program evaluation scheme, a study was done of program topics identified as important to problem-based learning (PBL) by faculty and students at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at the University of Hawaii (Manoa) where a PBL curriculum is used. The study interviewed and surveyed key stakeholders, asking…

This guide, one of a series of publications written for medical faculty to use in designing substance abuse instruction, focuses on the teaching of alcohol and drug abuse intervention in medical and osteopathic schools. Following a brief introducton to the booklet, the career teacher program, which is supported by federal grants, is explained.…

Hypothesis generation has been proven to be a crucial phase in the clinical inquiry. The current instruments for measuring clinical problem-solving skills, however, are unable to differentially assess the hypothesis generating ability. For assessing this particular capability a new test is described. It is based upon exposing the examinee to an…

Designed to shorten the overall length of training and to restore a broad-based clinical experience to the period of intermediate patient care responsibilities, students in the program described observe and practice in a primary care setting. Analysis of their performance indicates they perform on a level comparable with first-year house officers.…

Since the publication of Samuel Shem's "House of God," medical students and residents have been famous for their cynical conversations about patients and life on the wards. This image is largely a caricature, yet peer pressure, medical machismo, stressful working conditions, and house staff subculture do foster negative attitudes and…

A review of the medical student selection literature and our own past research (Lowe, Kerridge, Bore, Munro and Powis (2001) has indicated that competent and ethical practice of medicine requires doctors to possess a range of personal qualities in addition to high-level academic ability. A three-part test battery called the Personal Qualities…

In two studies, the role of biomedical knowledge in the diagnosis of clinical cases by physicians and medical students was explored. Experiment 1 demonstrated a decrease in the use of biomedical knowledge with increasing expertise. This result appeared to be at variance with some findings reported in some but not all of the literature. In…

A more familiar and efficient method for estimating the parameters of Cason and Cason's model was examined. Using a two-step analysis based on linear regression, rather than the direct search interative procedure, gave about equally good results while providing a 33 to 1 computer processing time advantage, across 14 cohorts of junior medical…

A study compared the attitudes toward change held by students preparing for careers as teachers, nurses, medical doctors, and lawyers. It was hypothesized that: (1) education majors are less likely to be open to change than other students; (2) education and nursing ("semi-professions") majors are less likely to be open to change than other…

In order to identify the relationship among social support networks, depression, life events, and student progress in medical school, 96 students completed a questionnaire. The results indicated good social support, a high number of recent life events, slight depression and a continuum of not quite passing to doing extremely well in medical…

The applicability of Rosch and coworkers' concept of prototypes to the mental categorization of medical disorders, and the influence of clinical experience on those memory structures were studied with 100 preclinical medical students and 77 experienced physicians from Quebec, Canada. The third-year medical students were French-speaking and read…

Medical specialty choice and reasons for change among those Wright State University students who switched their choice between entry and graduation were studied, based on questionnaire findings. For the class of 1982, 35 of the 70 students chose as their eventual specialty their preference at entry to medical school. Primary care specialties…

Trends in medical student financing from 1973-74, when the Public Health Service and National Health Service Corps (PH/NHSC) scholarship and the Armed Forces Health Professions scholarship programs were created, to 1975-76 are investigated. Major variables in the study include specific sources of student assistance, tuition rates, and gross…

Characteristics and trends of U.S. Foreign Medical Students who sought transfers from foreign to U.S. medical schools via the Coordinated Transfer Application System (COTRANS) from the beginnning of the program in 1970 up to the present is presented. The overall focus is on the five-year time period, 1972 through 1976. Descriptions of…