Discusses reference management software that is used for the storage and retrieval of bibliographic and text files on personal computers. Uses in health sciences are reviewed, selection criteria are discussed, needs assessment is described, guidelines for selecting appropriate software are presented, and a list of software products is included.…

A discussion of the financing of health professions education looks at a variety of influences, including enrollment change over the last few decades, federal involvement, growth in higher education, drops in federal and state support and the impact on costs borne by students. Possible directions are examined. (MSE)

Describes the development of a multimedia library collection at Concorde Career Institute (Missouri) that specializes in allied health technical career training. Highlights include determining student needs, barriers to student and faculty use, instruction in library use, and working with instructors. (LRW)

Discusses what has been learned about building school/community partnerships through the "Health Professions Schools in Service to the Nation Program," a national demonstration program of service-learning in health-professions education. Issues include: the challenge of distinguishing service learning from clinical experience; community attitudes…

Frustrated by the ways in which large managed-care companies are controlling physicians' lives and professional practice, the American Medical Association has voted to form a union to represent physicians and medical residents. Academic physicians have shown less interest than others. (MSE)

Discusses the provision of continuing professional development (CPD) for health professionals by open and distance learning, focusing on the experience of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). Describes the needs-analysis and pilot evaluation of a primarily text-based resource, reporting high satisfaction with content…

Discusses the approaches taken to integrating teaching of basic sciences, clinical sciences, and biopsychosocial issues by eight medical schools participating in a large-scale curriculum development project. All schools promoted study of the humanities and biopsychosocial sciences throughout the curriculum. Attention is given to the problems…

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…

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 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…

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…