The relationship between characteristics of the preclinical curriculum and institutional performance on the Part I examination of the National Board of Medical Examiners at U.S. medical schools was analyzed. Total scheduled hours per week was the single curriculum characteristic having a positive and significant relationship with performance.…

Reviews studies investigating how, when, and why doctors had made their career decisions. Reports on a preliminary questionnaire given to medical students concerning their career decisions. Argues for medical schools to assist students with such decisions, calling on medical teachers to be tutors and mentors in this regard. (TW)

Patient satisfaction with the attitudes and communication skills of first- and third-year medical students in a five-year program was found to be higher for the more advanced students and for women in general, and a weak positive correlation was found between patient and faculty assessments of the students. (MSE)

Communication skills are critical when the physician must convey distressful information. A study to determine whether training second-year medical students to convey such information would be effective in improving their skills is reported. (MLW)

A comprehensive study by both baccalaureate origin and gender of entrants into U.S. medical schools reveals which institutions send substantial numbers of students to medical schools and also discloses differences in the institutional backgrounds of male and female medical students. (Author/MLW)

Multiple regression analyses were employed to determine the relationships between achievement variables as predictors of the performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners examinations of medical students. Score averages were added to a composite Medical College Admission Test to investigate the increases in prediction accuracy.…

A survey of 96 faculty in 12 medical schools showed that faculty average 48.6 minutes a week discussing personal problems with students. The most common problems concern finances, emotional health, and interactions with faculty. Techniques used include listening, questioning, sympathy, and empathy. (MSE)

Work and family form a core relationship in people's lives and many individuals struggle to balance these responsibilities. To explore this balance, some of the issues surrounding attitudes toward gender equality and work-family commitment as related to medical students, are examined in this report. The research focused on patterns of commitment…

A survey of all U.S. medical schools, with just over half responding, reveals that there were very few problems in either disabled students' academic performance or the institution's adaptation, and that when one disabled student is accepted, a school tends to accept more. Some schools recommended more academic and emotional support services. (MSE)

Examines the relationship between instructional satisfaction and satisfaction with university goals among students from medicine, social sciences, and engineering. Findings indicated that: (1) medical students are most satisfied while engineering students are less satisfied, and (2) a positive relationship exists between instructional satisfaction…

A preceptorship in an internal medicine clerkship at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is discussed and evaluated. The results of a telephone survey indicate that the preceptorship had an important impact on the students, who learned time management, office management, and management of chronic clinical problems. (MLW)

The amount and cognitive level of teacher questions and student discussion in small clinical discussion groups were studied. The "process" of how small group interaction related to certain outcomes, such as the students' critical thinking and their performance on the examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners is examined.…

Many faculty members are reluctant to evaluate the clinical performance of medical students because of fear of legal liability and lawsuits. Current methods and uses of evaluation and legal issues are discussed. The Supreme Court's decision in Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz is discussed. (Author/MLW)

Videotapes of simulated student case presentations were used to determine whether personal characteristics of medical students influence the evaluation of their clinical ability. The results indicate that personal characteristics of students can significantly influence their evaluations and that faculty members do not appear to share common…

A University of Florida College of Dentistry management system is described that uses a computer to assist in the matching of patients and dental students, the monitoring of patient care, and the tracking of student clinical progress in a teaching environment that emphasizes the comprehensive patient care approach. (Author/MLW)