Third-year medical students at Mount Sinai School of Medicine participated in a year-long survey that included self-administered questionnaires to ascertain the frequency and duration of the symptoms of minor illnesses. A significant association between the illness rate and the pediatric clerkship was documented. (Author/MLW)

Medical science, according to the author, is in a primitive stage of development. He traces the science of infection, beginning around 1875, not developed enough to be considered an applied science until the 1930's, and points out that we are only halfway in basic scientific understanding of such diseases as cancer, nephritis, and schizophrenia.…

The purpose of this study is to introduce a model system for the continuous retrieval, storage, and dissemination of relevant clinical information that has proven to be an effective resource of real-life data. Patients with Crohn's disease from a geographic area served as the population base for 2 groups of physicians, one group practicing in the…

A study is reported that sought to determine the prevalence and incidence of stress-associated illnesses and to identify possible sources of stress among students enrolled in a combined medical-doctoral (M.D.-Ph.D.) program. The information obtained from M.D.-Ph.D. students was compared with the responses of M.D. students and Ph.D. students.…

Work is continuing at the University of Illinois at the Medical Center to simulate additional medically significant odors and to incorporate them into instructional and evaluation materials. Already studied are breath and urine odors used in the diagnosis of clinical conditions. (LBH)

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)

As part of the required Introduction to Clinical Sciences course, second-year students at Georgetown University School of Medicine attend three one-hour lectures on dentistry: restorative dentistry, oral surgery, and various diseases. Contents of the lectures are summarized here. (JT)

An interactive, computer-based teaching exercise in diagnosis that emphasizes pathophysiology in the analysis of clinical data is described. Called the Jaundice Program, its objective is to simplify the pattern recognition problem by relating clinical findings to diagnosis via reference to disease mechanisms. (LBH)

Departments of preventive medicine can survive through unity, which can be achieved through majority agreement on a new and specific definition of preventive medicine. A definition is proposed that is based on a review and analysis of recent progress in the prevention of the major causes of mortality. (MLW)

The Duke University School of Medicine conducts a health testing and promotion program to increase its students' awareness of their own health. The long-term goal is to prevent them from becoming impaired, as physicians, by emotional problems or addiction to alcohol or other drugs. (Author/MSE)

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)

The lack of physician knowledge in the diagnosis and management of sleep disorders is discussed. An examination of physicians demonstrated knowledge deficiencies and a survey of medical schools showed that 46 percent offered no training in the area of sleep physiology or disorders. Recommendations for addressing the situation are offered. (JMD)

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 podiatric medical residency program in the Health Science Center at San Antonio provides an intensive exposure for the newly graduated podiatrist to practice in a multidisciplinary environment. Residents become more familiar with general medical and surgical diseases and disorders as well as podiatric pathology. (LBH)