Patient management problems were found to be favorable methods of self-assessment by an overwhelming majority of practicing dermatologists and those in training, regardless of the type of practice or the number of years in practice. (LBH)

The Medicare prospective payment system does not adequately account for severity of illness. Whether teaching hospitals treat a case mix of patients with more severe illness than do nonteaching hospitals was tested in a study using two severity measures, Horn's severity of illness index and Gonnnella's "disease staging." (Author/MLW)

A systematic, preliminary evaluation of the impact of a death and dying workshop on participants' attitudes toward life and death is described. Results were statistically significant for one measure (fear of death) in the expected direction but not for two others (attitudes toward life and anxiety about death). (LBH)

"Diagnose" is a computer-assisted instruction lesson designed to give medical students experience in using deductive reasoning in diagnosis. The computer selects a mystery disease from a stored list, along with 12 randomly-selected clues--three indicators of presenting complaints, history, physical findings, and laboratory tests. (LBH)

The author proposes the training of physicians in the use of a protocol to help a patient draw up a Living Will. The successful use of such a training protocol could begin to meet the existing need for a more structured education in the care of the terminally ill and to minimize uncertainty by achieving standards of uniformity in this aspect of…

Presents objectives for a core program on social aspects of medicine based on scientific orientation, medical care delivery, patient care, human development, and disease distribution. (PG)

It is concluded that while behavior of experts in the hospital and clinic is the primary means of evaluating successful student performance, computer simulations of patient cases offer the opportunity to use expert data in the calibration of student error. (Editor)

Despite evidence of increased interest among medical students in entering family practice, concern for the needs of the chronically ill and aged still seems to be largely absent in medical schools and students have negative attitudes toward them. Restructuring of medical education is necessary to promote more concern. (LBH)

A study is presented that documents widespread unfamiliarity with traditional health beliefs among 30 residents who had been caring for Mexican patients in a Southern California clinic for periods ranging from one to three years. It is suggested that formal curricular material on health beliefs and practices should be provided. (MLW)

Medication noncompliance is seen as an obstacle to successful clinical outcomes of many diseases. An exercise for preclinical medical students at Stanford University is described. Objectives include sensitizing students to the consequences of medication noncompliance, illustrating problems, and evaluating a number of compliance-related issues.…

Considered were attitudes toward (1) the patient's inner resources to cope with a serious illness such as cancer, (2) the value of early diagnosis, and (3) the value of aggressive treatment, as well as the belief in immortality and preparation for and acceptance of death. Changes occurred throughout medical school, especially during the clinical…

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)

In order to better prepare medical students for care of alcoholic patients, arguments are presented for understanding the negative perceptions of alcoholics, which are ingrained in the general culture, and how they merge with the students' developing professional identities. (Author/MLW)

The effectiveness of chart audit with written feedback as a tool for encouraging residents to obtain and record occupational information during history-taking is evaluated. (Author/MLW)