Forty-four University of Kansas medical residents and nine associated community family physicians recorded their impressions of each patient's truthfulness and related issues after half-day patient care sessions. Analysis indicated residents doubted patients in 19.5% of encounters, senior physicians in 8.7%. Both groups had more negative than…

A study of 40 medical students who used an interactive child abuse computer simulation to learn clinical reasoning skills found that students thought the exercise was both interesting and educational. Performance on the simulation was not related to gender or experience but was related to academic performance. (CR)

Reviews studies of costs of medical education and looks at trends and issues in medical school cost containment. Finds curricular trends are tending to increase costs, and proposals to restructure medical education to reduce costs are generally maneuvers to transfer cost responsibility to other entities. Sees minimal opportunities for cost…

Among six conclusions of a study on computerized literature retrieval by medical students at the University of Missouri were that many students easily became independent users of MEDLINE, that previous computer use was not related to effective MEDLINE use, and that effectively trained students used the MeSH vocabulary as easily as faculty. (DB)

The ambulatory care clerkship at the College of Human Medicine of Michigan State University has an extensive database of clerkship experiences including a catalog of students' clinical experiences, assessment of students' performances by the faculty, and students' evaluation of various aspects of the clerkship. (MLW)

This study investigated changes in students attitudes toward issues related to contact with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) patients. Dental students remained consistently more anxious and more restrictive in their attitudes toward treating patients with AIDS than did their medical student counterparts and became more conservative in…

Medical schools (N=136) were surveyed concerning their use of standardized patients (lay persons trained to replicate a clinical encounter consistently and realistically). Among 16 specific topics covered are breast and pelvic examination, male genitourinary examination, interviewing skills, administration of program, start-up concerns, and…

Cites changes to occur on the Medical College Admissions Test to include: a reduction from six to four sections, biology and physics content-specific sections to absorb chemistry, elimination of multiple-choice questions to a problem-solving format, and the inclusion of graded essay questions. (RT)

Procedural due process issues concerning the suspension or dismissal of medical and dental residents are outlined, and related court litigation is discussed. It is concluded that courts generally follow the faculty due process model. (Author/MSE)

A small group discussion method of gathering feedback from students, when combined with student ratings, greatly enhanced the positive effect on teaching as compared to ratings alone. The results are explained in terms of teaching and learning as collaborative interaction. (Author/MLW)

Computerized workstations at a teaching hospital were developed so that physicians in training could integrate and automate some of their information management tasks. The project is part of the National Library of Medicine's Integrated Academic Information Management Systems program at Georgetown University School of Medicine. (Author/MLW)

A study of the effect of incorporating medical ethics into the medical curriculum and comparing two teaching methods (lecture and case studies) found higher moral reasoning after instruction, but neither method was significantly more effective. (Author/MSE)

Medical education must put more emphasis on teaching that improves students' abilities to make associations. Two teaching methods that can promote development of the necessary association skills in clinical contexts--"wait time" and "concept mapping"--are briefly reviewed. (Author/MLW)

The impact of a major curriculum revision on students' perceptions of the quality of the medical school learning environment, social supports, and their own mental and social well-being was examined. (Author/MLW)

A study investigated the relationship of medical student experience with computer searches to their continued use of search services. Results indicated that, among the 184 students studied, searching the MEDLINE database once a month through the first years of medical school improved the likelihood that students would continue searching.…