The use of nurses or other health workers to assess residents' humanistic behavior is discussed. Since nurses and other paramedical staff members observe residents interacting with their patients, these professionals may be a valuable but underused resource in the evaluation of physicians' humanistic qualities. (MLW)

A program in personal and professional development for interns was developed at the University of Connecticut Affiliated Hospitals to reduce maladaptive responses to the stresses of medical training. The goals of the program are to provide a supportive atmosphere, build trust, and promote deeper self-understanding and sensitivity. (Author/MLW)

The reliability of a 13-item questionnaire designed to assess the humanistic behaviors of internal medicine residents and the reliability of nurses as raters of those behaviors were examined. Residents were evaluated by nurses on two general medicine services and on cardiology and hematology-oncology services. (Author/MLW)

A prospective study using two standardized psychological tests, the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), was conducted to quantify the emotional changes experienced by internal medicine house staff during the internship. (Author/MLW)

An analysis of data from the National Study of Internal Medicine Manpower and the National Resident Matching Program is presented. The degree of congruence of the data is determined and the potential of answering questions about why and when certain career choices are made is discussed. (MLW)

Problems created by noninternal medicine residents rotating on internal medicine services, development of a curriculum which would adequately prepare residents for practice, and recruitment of more competent house officers are discussed. Strategies for improving teaching in the ambulatory environment are suggested. (MLW)

A survey of 1960-75 graduates of the Medical Residency Program of Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, N.Y., to obtain opinions concerning the strengths and weaknesses of their training and their opinions on curricular changes designed to prepare residents better for roles as general internists is discussed. (Author/MLW)

A project to improve hospital house officers' recognition of important behavioral, psychological, and social aspects involved in medical care of chronically ill ambulatory patients and an evaluation of its effectiveness are reported. The procedure involved the use of feedback from patient interviews regarding patient satisfaction, medication…

Twenty-one members of graduate internal medicine training program were studied to determine whether feedback of simple ambulatory practice profiles would prove valuable in their training program. Results suggest that attention to style of practice during training could be extremely cost effective. (Author/LBH)

A study with two graduate medical student cohorts (n=18, n=20) supports use of a structured protocol for student credentialing that includes stringent monitoring of the entire process and formal, regular feedback to housestaff regarding progress. Students credentialed with the revised monitoring showed significant improvement in results.…

A study of the correlation between certification test results and ratings of clinical competence for graduate medical students in internal medicine during a six-year period found strong correlations on both individual and general indicators of competence. (MSE)

An ambulatory medicine program for university hospital clinic residents was found to be effective in improving students' knowledge, enhancing attitudes toward the clinic, and improving performance of influenza vaccinations. No adverse program effects were found. (MSE)

Unexpected absences from work among residents cause scheduling difficulties and stress among residents. University of Rochester internal medicine and pediatric residents recorded the days they had been absent from work and provided their opinions regarding the stress these absences caused and the effectiveness for the sick-call system. (Author/MLW)

A study of cancer screening by internal medicine residents in an inner-city clinic revealed that screening was more frequent for male patients, and breast examinations and Pap smears were performed on less than a third of female patients, suggesting a need for more intensive early-detection education of residents. (MSE)

A survey on the teaching of liberal arts in internal medicine residency programs and the importance of liberal arts to the practice of medicine is discussed. Law and organization of the health care system as well as economics and bioethics were rated as essential to medical practice. (Author/MLW)