The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy is developing a program to assist in teaching skills instruction for pharmaceutical faculty, help faculty assess their own and peers' teaching, create criteria for determining teaching excellence, and institute a certification system for the designation Master Teacher in Pharmaceutical Education.…

Describes "authentic" problem-based learning (PBL) as a specific teaching method that addresses all the educational objectives possible with PBL: acquisition of a rich body of deeply understood knowledge; development of effective clinical problem-solving skills; and development of an insatiable curiosity and a desire for continuous learning…

Two Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) medical students and their faculty sponsor collaborated to develop an elective course in women's health. Development and implementation of this course and the process by which it was later made part of the required curriculum are described. The success of the effort highlights the crucial role students…

A review of 250 faculty applicant bibliographies in 1995 from eight medical institutions representing six medical specialties investigated the legitimacy of each journal, abstract, and book citation, finding 56 misrepresented citations among 2149 verified articles, distributed among 39 applicants. Most were discrepancies in authorship order, and…

Traces trends in health care, including growth of managed care, increased consumer choice, and changes in administration and funding of academic health centers, and examines the challenges they create for teaching, research, and practice. The Oregon Health Plan and its effect on Oregon Health Sciences University are used for illustration. (MSE)

Two conference presentations are summarized: (1) the Human Genome Project and other genetic discoveries and technologies, that offer improvements in diagnosis, disease prevention, and treatment, and that change the relationship between the academic medical center (AMC) and the pharmaceutical industry; and (2) new emphases on health-care outcomes…

To enhance the information technology literacy of optometry students, the Southern College of Optometry (Tennessee) developed an academic assignment, the Electronic Media Paper, in which second-year students must search two different electronic media for information. Results suggest Internet use for searching may be a useful tool for specific…

A survey of 57 dental school deans concerning current and ideal curricular emphases in 33 topic areas identified three that were rated highly as ideals: health promotion/disease prevention; primary care; and effective patient-provider relationships/communication. The most significant barrier to reform was an already crowded curriculum. Deans…

A study assessed effectiveness of instruction designed to train internal-medical-clerkship students in productive use of feedback from residents and attending physicians (APs) to improve performance. The workshop focused on writing goals in a learning contract, defining characteristics of effective feedback, and practicing use of feedback in…

A rural health care staff development unit in New South Wales (Australia) switched from face-to-face teaching to a model encompassing competency-based training, recognition of prior learning, portfolio assessment, and flexible delivery using telecommunications technologies. Recommendations for ongoing implementation and marketing of…

The Hispanic Center of Excellence, which is located on the campus of the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx, is just one of the few federally funded programs in the country charged with producing new Hispanic physicians. Recently, the Office of Management and Budget, a federal department that assists President Bush in overseeing the…

Context: Statewide studies indicate a continuing shortfall of personnel in several allied health disciplines in rural Georgia. National trends indicate lagging enrollment in allied health education programs, suggesting that the workforce shortages will worsen. Purpose: This article describes the efforts of the School of Allied Health Sciences at…

Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use behaviors of health professions students (HPS) were assessed by surveying both university-based HPS and other nursing programs in a Midwestern state in 1999. Response was 2,646 (56.4%) of surveyed students. Family history of alcohol-related and drug-related problems were reported by 39.8% and 13.9%, respectively,…

Four community colleges in Western Massachusetts--Berkshire Community College (BCC), Greenfield Community College (GCC), Holyoke Community College (HCC), and Springfield Technical Community College (STCC)--have created a collaborative Web site, at www.healthprograms.org, to present information on allied health associate degrees or certificate…

To inform the development of educational programming designed to teach providers appropriate methods of exercise prescription for older adults, the authors conducted a survey of 177 physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners (39% response rate). The survey was designed to better understand the prevalence of exercise prescriptions,…