A potential generalizable approach for assessing, eliciting, and codifying criteria to select candidates for positions in the Hennepin County Medical Center primary care internal medicine residency program is described. The approach involves a faculty questionnaire designed to examine the importance of various types of criteria. (JMD)

A survey of 121 internal medicine residents at Mount Sinai Hospital (New York) investigated students' career plans and decision timing, the effect on their residency of applying for a fellowship, and the timing of the fellowship process. Results indicate the current medical fellowship application system is generally experienced negatively. A…

A survey of 330 internal medicine residency directors found two-thirds of programs had ongoing academic affiliations. Support for the arrangements was stronger in university programs than in community or other hospitals, where such affiliations were considered less equitable and mutually trusting. Experience with consortia mitigated objections to…

The University of Hawaii developed an assessment and testing program for qualifying internal medicine residents in basic procedural skills: an observation period, a multiple-choice examination, and a slide-identification examination. The mean scores of both examinations were analyzed to assess whether curriculum changes were effective. (Author/MLW)

A survey of medical schools and residency programs in four specialties (family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, and psychiatry) sought information on the number and type of curriculum units on substance abuse offered by them. Considerable variation in offerings was found among the specialties. (MSE)

A survey of residents (N=323) in 6 internal medicine programs investigated the topics students wanted included in the medical ethics curriculum and by which of 17 methods they would prefer to be taught. About three-fourths had previous medical ethics instruction, and most wanted more on specific topics, especially legal and end-of-life issues.…

A study assessed the effectiveness of medical resident training programs during 1983-88 by evaluating students' certification scores and comparing them to the program's evaluation of students' clinical competence. Results are reported and analyzed for top-rated, university-affiliated, and non-university-affiliated programs, focusing on trends over…

In an attempt to replicate an earlier study by H. G. Schmidt, H. P. A. Boshuizen, and P. P. M. Hobus (1988), 96 students and physicians at the University of Limburg (Netherlands) studied 4 clinical cases, produced a diagnosis, and recalled each case. Subjects were 24 second-year, 24 fourth-year, and 24 sixth-year medical students and 24 internists…

In the present study, task instruction and lab data format were manipulated to explain the discrepancy between the positive linear recall function with expertise (reported by van de Wiel and others, 1993), and the generally found intermediate effect in clinical case recall. Sixteen second-year medical students, 16 fourth-year students, and 16…

The characteristics of the mental health components of residency training in traditional internal medicine, primary care internal medicine, and family practice were examined. Internal medicine programs relied on the consultation method and in-patient facilities, and used the psychiatrist as the primary teacher. Evaluation of the outcome of…

This study examined whether two variations on the typical Angoff group standard-setting process would produce sufficiently consistent results to recommend their use. The results imply that judgments gathered after an initial traditional group-process session can provide an efficient alternative mechanism for setting cutting scores using the Angoff…

The goals, formats, and outcomes of journal clubs in a sample of internal medicine residency programs in New York City were surveyed. The results of the survey and a description of the club in the Department of Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center are presented. (Author/MLW)

The demographic, diagnostic, and prognostic characteristics of patients treated by house staff members rotating through the general medical wards of the Houston Veterans Administration Medical Center was studied. The data indicate that VA hospitals make a significant contribution to internal medicine training. (Author/MLW)

The effectiveness of medical consultation studied at Johns Hopkins Hospital was measured as a function of compliance by the requesting physicians with the consultants' recommendations. Compliance rates are discussed. The definitiveness of the advice offered was significantly related to compliance. (MLW)

An academic general medicine clinic (GMC) was studied and profiles were generated to determine current patterns, shortcomings, and potential solutions. Conclusions include that GMC offers insufficient variety of patient presentations for optimal postgraduate medical education and inadequate accessibility for comprehensive medical care. (Author/JMD)