A survey of 665 fourth-year medical students in 6 schools investigated whether students had encountered ethically problematic situations, their attitudes about them, and their perceptions of their personal ethical development. Results suggest that ethical dilemmas are commonly encountered and often detrimental, warranting attention of physicians,…

Survey of 95 medical school libraries found that 91.5 percent of copies of retracted articles were not tagged as being invalid, that 79 percent of the libraries had tagged none of the retracted studies; and only 16 percent had policies for managing articles that report invalid science. A common attitude against perceived library censorship was…

A study of 812 students entering Thomas Jefferson University (Pennsylvania) medical college in 1985-88 found students' basic sciences performance in medical school was the same for all undergraduate major groups. The groups had similar rates for delayed graduation, but attrition was highest for humanities graduates. Career plans and estimated…

Among 745 physicians graduated from the University of Calgary (Canada) women were more likely to take parental leave, but gender differences in breaks taken for other reasons were less. Women worked fewer hours in direct patient care. Female parents under 35 spent fewer hours on patient care than all male parents. (Author/MSE)

Results of a recent national survey concerning the financing of medical education in the United States are reported, including information on data sources and characteristics, notes on medical school financial reporting patterns, a breakdown of public and private medical school revenues and expenditures, and medical student financial assistance…

A survey of 125 U.S. medical schools revealed changes in faculty evaluation, accountability measures reflected in compensation systems, new faculty tracks and career pathways, clarification of the portion of compensation defined by tenure, lengthened pretenure probation, and modification of the promotion-tenure link. Status of tenure guarantees,…

Describes a survey of 20 distinguished clinical medical teachers concerning episodes of instructional failure that subsequently led to improvement in teaching. Identifies eight common failure types associated with each phase of teaching (planning, teaching, reflection) and respondents' suggestions for improvement for each. Notes that the…

A survey of 185 members of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People in Medicine group, at 92 schools found that students with access to community or school support groups were significantly more likely to disclose their sexual orientation and to know faculty with whom to discuss related issues. Racial differences were found, but no gender…

A survey of student affairs deans at 108 medical schools found most schools required hepatitis vaccination, evidence of immunity, or waiver refusing vaccination. Nearly all required health insurance, and usually offered a plan, but fewer offered disability insurance. Schools often held students responsible for costs of vaccination, serologic…

A study of medical students' and internal medicine course directors' perceptions of the value of medical case write-ups and the faculty evaluations of those write-ups found broad agreement on the exercise's value but major concerns about variability of criteria and standards of write-up evaluation. (MSE)

A study investigated graduate medical students' perceptions of the effectiveness of financial incentives in recruitment to primary care residencies. Results indicated that a wide range of incentives is available, the trend is growing, and students find such incentives effective. Concern is voiced about diversion of funds needed for improvement of…

Graduates (n=638) of Jefferson Medical College (Pennsylvania) were divided into primary care and nonprimary care physicians and compared on performance measures, professional activities, satisfaction, problems, and research productivities. A logistic regression model could predict primary care-nonprimary care status from specialty interest,…

A survey of 177 teaching hospitals investigated, first, the extent of cooperation between hospital continuing medical education (CME) providers and medical schools and, second, whether community hospitals will seek competitive or cooperative relationships with medical schools for CME in the near future. A trend toward collaboration was found.…

A survey of 300 family practice residency directors found most chief residents receive no formal training or evaluation. Primary duties are acting as liaison and advocate for residents, scheduling, and leadership. Opportunity to develop leadership skills and influence curriculum are chief advantages; time pressures and demands are main…

A survey of 100 medical schools concerning training and preventive measures used to protect student health and safety found 60 percent felt students were adequately prepared to work safely; 11 percent did not. Over one-third planned to revise health and safety training. School adoption of policies, procedures, and uniform curriculum is…