A longitudinal study of 133 medical students at the University of Illinois used multiple clinical encounters with standardized patients to test student interpersonal and communication skills after the second and during the fourth year. Mean patient satisfaction improved from first to second encounter, and female students performed better than…

This paper argues that medical ethics education relies too much on strategies that target ethical thinking and should focus more on students as ethical actors in specific clinical contexts, responding to ethical dilemmas. Traditional approaches may not offer the skills students need to learn norms of ethical behavior. Strategies for encouraging…

A study in the Queen's University (Canada) medical school's family residency program found that in 70,805 patient encounters with residents, 65.1% were with women patients. While mean number of patients seen by male and female residents did not differ, proportions of women patients seen (58.6% for male residents, 68.4% for females) did vary. Male…

To recruit doctors to rural areas, an Australian scholarship program enables undergraduate medical students to spend 2 weeks each year for 4 years at the same rural location. Case studies illustrate how four such students' participation in trichiasis and diabetic retinopathy screening benefitted the Aboriginal communities in which they worked and…

A study investigated the predictive capacity of (1) the scores on Australian standardized tests, taken on leaving high school and used as medical school entrance criterion, (2) academic subjects taken in the last year of secondary school, (3) gender, and (4) public vs. private schooling. Subjects and test scores correlated with performance. (MSE)

In response to New York State legislation limiting house staff working hours, a survey of obstetrics and gynecology resident programs (n=26) was conducted. Results were used to construct a prototype call schedule and a hypothetical monthly schedule indicating how a single resident would function without violating any state regulations. (MSE)

Traditional predictors have modest correlations with medical school grades and scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners examination for minority students. Noncognitive minority admissions variables are discussed including self-concept, realistic self-appraisal, understanding and dealing with racism, long-range goals, having a strong…

The profession of medicine has a central role to play in ushering in the new paradigm of a health care system that will invest its efforts in health promotion and disease prevention on the one hand and in treatment and rehabilitation of the sick and injured on the other. (MLW)

At quarterly intervals in 1986-87, attribution of control and subjective symptom ratings were assessed among general psychiatry residents in the University of Cincinnati's training program. Differences were significant for ratings of internal locus of control, but the external locus of control ratings showed no corresponding fluctuation.…

A study of 36 first-year Northwestern University (Illinois) medical residents found that students' medical knowledge was a predictor of increased laboratory test use, that clinical judgment was a predictor of decreased laboratory use, and that level of caring was statistically unrelated to amount of laboratory use. (Author/MSE)

A study assessed the effectiveness of a weekly outpatient clinic for staging and triage of newly identified human-immunodeficiency-virus (HIV)-infected patients on 21 medical residents' attitudes and knowledge regarding HIV patient care, as compared with 20 control students. Results indicated that the experience positively affected student…

A survey of 63 general medical residents found most accepted the psychosocial role of the primary care physician, found it most appropriate in ambulatory care settings, felt ambivalent about their ability to perform it, and assigned it secondary priority in patient care. More attention by training programs to ambulatory care and psychosocial…

Students (n=143) at the Indiana University School of Medicine were surveyed--before and after pharmacology laboratory experiences using dogs--for their assessments of educational and moral aspects of animal laboratories. Most students indicated that the laboratory experiences did not involve immoral use of animals and were preferable to…

A survey of 437 pediatricians graduating in 1981-87 found that men and whites were significantly more likely to have trained in subspecialties rather than chosen primary care practice, as were earlier graduates. Type of medical school attended and level of educational debt were not significantly related. (Author/MSE)

A 2-year study investigated the attitudes of 63 Saudi medical residents and their 74 Western clinical teachers concerning the teacher-student relationship. Conflicts in perceptions in the first year were found to be largely resolved in the second year, possibly because of the study itself. (MSE)