The multiple points of entry into medical schools at Boston University, which are made possible by a unique relationship between the undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and the School of Medicine, are described. Substantial flexibility has been introduced into the liberal arts experience and the first year of medical sciences. (MLW)

A workshop that provides first-year medical students with an introduction to the importance of ethnicity and cultural factors in medicine is described. The six-month required course at UCLA involves reading assignments, panel presentations, and small group discussions. (SW)

According to a questionnaire survey of 101 American medical schools (76 responding) 93 percent had no thesis requirement for graduation and faculty opinion on the value of a mandatory, formal research experience was not clear. The majority do not seem to favor instituting such a requirement for various reasons. (JT)

Based on questionnaire response from 105 medical schools (33 of which offer 3-year programs) the author concludes that the programs have been a productive and valuable medical educational experience, that more objective studies are needed to evaluate the products, and that they should remain an option. (JT)

University of Oklahoma College of Medicine's policies regarding the National Board of Medical Examiners Part I examination affected students' exam performance. The examination was mandatory and a passing score was needed for promotion. A new mandatory review course resulted in higher scores even when the examination was no longer required.…

An educational curriculum for clinician-executives developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is described. Courses may be taken for graduate credit leading to a master's degree in preventive medicine/administrative medicine or for continuing medical education credit. (Author/MLW)

Perceptions of students who would have elected a preceptorship rotation had it not been required were compared with those of students who participated only to fulfill the requirement. Both groups perceived an increase in knowledge of primary care practices and confidence in relevant clinical skills. (Author/LBH)

A required fourth-year course integrating the social sciences and humanities into the required clinical medical curriculum at Dartmouth Medical School is intended to prepare students to deal with the social and humanistic issues involved in medical practice, including law, ethics, economics, and social anthropology. (MSE)

Careers that combine medical research and patient care should be described to students early in medical school. Opportunities for research training in M.D.-Ph.D. programs, the program offered by the National Institutes of Health and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the NIH postresidency physician-scientist programs are discussed.…

Residents in family practice sponsored by the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Deaconess Hospital select a rotation to fulfill a community-university service requirement. The program was designed to involve residents in giving health care in Buffalo and western New York, where there is a physician shortage. (JMD)