This study represents a preliminary effort toward the ultimate goal of identifying some of the major determinants of final career plans of residents in internal medicine. Initial career goal statements indicating future subspecialization are found to be important but the incidence of goal reversal is high. (LBH)

A study of internal medicine residents examined patterns of educational indebtedness, effects on their training and career decisions, frequency with which they begin loan payments during training, extent to which they moonlight and the reasons for doing so, and their opinions about the effects of moonlighting on house staff training. (MSE)

The use of nurses or other health workers to assess residents' humanistic behavior is discussed. Since nurses and other paramedical staff members observe residents interacting with their patients, these professionals may be a valuable but underused resource in the evaluation of physicians' humanistic qualities. (MLW)

The hypothesis that first-year medical residents' evaluate their performance in a more differentiated manner than their supervisors was evaluated. An evaluation form was developed to obtain ratings of performance in 13 specific areas. Results showed that residents were more discriminating than supervisors in evaluating residents performance. (JAZ)

A system developed for more efficient evaluation of graduate medical students' progress uses numerical scoring and a microcomputer database management system as an alternative to manual methods to produce accurate, objective, and meaningful summaries of resident evaluations. (Author/MSE)

A workshop provided graduate medical students and faculty with 30 minutes of instruction and 90 minutes of online experience in formulating and conducting MEDLINE database searches. In subsequent months, many participants conducted searches in increasing numbers and with increasing efficiency, and more indicated intentions of using searching…

A program in personal and professional development for interns was developed at the University of Connecticut Affiliated Hospitals to reduce maladaptive responses to the stresses of medical training. The goals of the program are to provide a supportive atmosphere, build trust, and promote deeper self-understanding and sensitivity. (Author/MLW)

The reliability of a 13-item questionnaire designed to assess the humanistic behaviors of internal medicine residents and the reliability of nurses as raters of those behaviors were examined. Residents were evaluated by nurses on two general medicine services and on cardiology and hematology-oncology services. (Author/MLW)

This study examined the effects of a simulated patient examination administered to applicants for the General Surgical residency program at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Results obtained from 29 applicants showed no significant differences in faculty ratings between applicants provided practical exam results and those using…

The relationship of career choice to academic performance is examined by using the National Board of Medical Examiners examinations as the measure of academic performance. It was hypothesized that the examination subtest scores of students selecting various specialty residency programs would demonstrate profiles that were unique for each specialty…

Factors that contributed to successful residency performance by anesthesiology residents were examined in order to assist the program's selection committee in developing selection criteria. The best predictor of a resident's academic average in the anethesiology program was the number of years the resident had spent in other specialities.…

It is important that medical residents be able to diagnose alcoholism prior to end-stage disease and organ damage. To assess their diagnostic ability, a survey was conducted of patients from the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The results demonstrated an underdiagnosis of alcoholism. (Author/MLW)

Documentation has assumed increasing importance as more hospital boards require applicants to produce a listing of their procedural and diagnostic experience when applying for hospital privileges. It is possible that documentation will become an essential component of both graduate training programs and private practice. (MLW)

A questionnaire concerning knowledge of opiate abuse and attitudes about abusers was administered to 94 randomly selected physicians and medical students at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. The results indicated that physicians might benefit from improved teaching in the area of opiate abuse. (Author/MLW)

Self-report data were collected on measures of job stress, life stress, social support provided by three sources (supervisors, co-workers, and people outside work), and psychological health symptoms. Residents who perceive high job stress need to be identified in their residencies so assistance can be provided. (Author/MLW)