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)

In a survey, 351 internists, family practitioners, and pediatricians rated their own competency in 19 areas of adolescent health care. Most felt deficient in all areas, with some variation by physician specialty, but most did not find this an undesirable age group to work with and few wanted to improve their skills. (MSE)

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)

A survey of several hundred internists, surgeons, and psychiatrists concerning their attitudes toward female and male alcoholics, alcoholism, the adequacy of their education about alcoholism, methods of handling alcoholics, and desire to learn about alcoholism is reported. Implications for continuing professional education are discussed. (MSE)

The structure and the development of an internal medicine clerkship designed to promote proficiency in the process of clinical reasoning is described. A "student ward" offers a structured environment where the emphasis is on in-depth clinical exposure and the acquisition of clinical knowledge. (Author/MLW)

The teaching of clinical skills and the supervision of clinical education of undergraduate medical students were studied by reviewing students' patient-related experiences in required internal medicine clerkships in the United States and Canada during the 1979-82 accreditation cycle of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. (Author/MLW)

A prospective study using two standardized psychological tests, the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), was conducted to quantify the emotional changes experienced by internal medicine house staff during the internship. (Author/MLW)

An analysis of data from the National Study of Internal Medicine Manpower and the National Resident Matching Program is presented. The degree of congruence of the data is determined and the potential of answering questions about why and when certain career choices are made is discussed. (MLW)

Problems created by noninternal medicine residents rotating on internal medicine services, development of a curriculum which would adequately prepare residents for practice, and recruitment of more competent house officers are discussed. Strategies for improving teaching in the ambulatory environment are suggested. (MLW)

A survey of 1960-75 graduates of the Medical Residency Program of Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, N.Y., to obtain opinions concerning the strengths and weaknesses of their training and their opinions on curricular changes designed to prepare residents better for roles as general internists is discussed. (Author/MLW)

A project to improve hospital house officers' recognition of important behavioral, psychological, and social aspects involved in medical care of chronically ill ambulatory patients and an evaluation of its effectiveness are reported. The procedure involved the use of feedback from patient interviews regarding patient satisfaction, medication…

Twenty-one members of graduate internal medicine training program were studied to determine whether feedback of simple ambulatory practice profiles would prove valuable in their training program. Results suggest that attention to style of practice during training could be extremely cost effective. (Author/LBH)