Undergraduates (n=296) read a fictional vignette concerning a person diagnosed with either terminal cancer or AIDS, and for varying lengths of time. Student reactions indicated that a person with AIDS is associated with greater stigma than a person with another fatal disease, regardless of how long ago the diagnosis was made. (JPS)

Examined perceptions of privacy in Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) testing from systemic perspective. Findings from 151 college students and 176 unassociated parents suggest that individuals delineate clear boundaries for dissemination of information concerning AIDS testing, with target of information being significant determinant of…

An innovative internal medicine clerkship provides a one-month ambulatory care component followed by two months of traditional inpatient experience. Assessment of the changes in student ability to diagnose in a variety of brief cases found knowledge gains in the shorter ambulatory care segment were double those in the longer segment. (MSE)

Discusses diagnosis, addressing need for and usefulness of diagnosis by clinicians in general, with emphasis on related ethical concerns and clinicians' competence in diagnosis specifically. Concludes that graduate programs involved in training clinical professionals need to teach diagnosis more aggressively. (Author/NB)

Outlines a prototype of an intelligent information-retrieval tool to facilitate information access for an undergraduate seeking information for a term paper. Topics include diagnosing the information need, Kuhlthau's information-search-process model, Shannon's mathematical theory of communication, and principles of uncertainty expansion and…

Explores the information-seeking practices of career counselors during career interviews. Outlines sensitive areas for career guidance counselors, and describes a research project that examined the types of information career counselors found pertinent. The findings, although based on very limited research, raise some issues of relevance to the…

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between educational attainment in psychology and diagnostic competence with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) II and III systems. Five subject groups served to define the variable of educational attainment in psychology: (1) 33 introductory undergraduate psychology…

A method to facilitate medical students' skill in diagnosis, based on cognitive science, was studied. A teaching intervention consisting of a 6-week seminar was used with sixth-year medical students in pediatric cardiology, which was their last rotation. Students were instructed to think about medicine as experts do (i.e., to conceptualize…

Because of the difficulty in instructing students in pediatric physical examination and because of the previously proven usefulness of simulators in medical education, Indiana University School of Medicine has developed a family of infant simulators for use in their pediatric education program. Four models are discribed. (LBH)

The University of Arizona College of Medicine program described extends the role of practical instructor or programmed patient to that of evaluator and teacher of neurological examinations skills for preclinical medical students. The process may help improve the quality of medical education without increasing the size of clinical faculty. (LBH)

Observations of a departmental and non-departmental outpatient service organization are compared regarding student attitude and evaluation, patient care, clinical exposure control, and faculty attitude and performance. Tables show the evaluation topics of each rotation in the departmental system. (LBH)

The potential use of computers in social work education and practice is discussed. Possibilities are emerging in regard to case management, diagnosis and assessment, and even treatment. The bottleneck is no longer expensive hardware but the development of usable and relevant software and courseware. (Author/MH)

An evaluation design project was undertaken to design a cost effective, standardized method for assessing the instructional effectiveness of the changes and outcomes associated with a pilot curriculum project focusing on the importance of the medical history in clinical problem solving. (LMO)

Venipuncture is the single most commonly performed procedure that causes pain to the patient, and its mastery is a highly visible milestone both in physical skills and personal manner. A training program at Georgetown University Hospital is described. (MLW)

A pediatric optometry clinic teaches students how to provide appropriate services for school-aged children who present, because of reduced visual acuity, unstable binocularity and perceptual skill disorders, and teaches about half the students the fundamentals of care of preschool children and strabismics. (Author/MSE)