An extensive written examination in pediatric clinical knowledge has been used to compare pediatric nurse practitioners with medical students and residents in pediatrics. Results of the study indicate that the PNPs were comparable in most areas except clinical pathology to the students and residents, sometimes even surpassing them. (LBH)

A system of patient handling was devised at the University of Virginia. All unscheduled primary care patients as well as walk-in patients making their third visit were seen in the Attending Clinic to assure a proper disposition. Data on this system and its usefulness in maintaining continuity are presented. (Editor/LBH)

Data are provided on wives' influence on medical students' decisions about their choice of medical speciality, organization of practice (solo or group), and geographical location of practice. Interviews and questionnaires provided the information from a group of wives of Medical College of Ohio medical students. (LBH)

Medical educators must acquaint students with the advantages of assessing the patient's total needs and of utilizing a broad range of services to help the patient achieve his fullest health potential. A schema is described for implementing the comprehensive health care concept. (Author/LBH)

The academic medical center is being affected by changes in the national health care delivery system, including the rapid growth in prepaid health plans, the emerging surplus of physicians, and the continued escalation of health care costs. (Author/MLW)

Consultation rates of medical house staff physicians were examined to determine the factors that lead to the use of consultants. The factors that were studied were clinical experience and teaching in medical school, intensity of use of services, residency year, Alpha Omega Alpha membership, and future practice plans. (Author/MLW)

A self-report questionnaire of graduates of a family practice residency program obtained information on their practices, professional and emergency medicine experiences, and attitudes toward the practice of emergency medicine by family practioners. (Author/MLW)

In response to the perceived need for primary care physicians, two major changes in internal medicine training have occurred: (1) a third year of general training was required for internal medicine board certification and (2) many hospitals developed primary care internal medicine residencies with an increased emphasis on ambulatory training.…

A point-counter-point analysis of increased dollar flows and the transformation of medical education is presented. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made regarding open issues in public policy, medical education, and the role of social institutions. (Author/LBH)

A program was devised at the Iowa College of Medicine to solicit volunteer mothers and their toddlers to help teach well-baby examinations. Peers were used to review the adequacy of the examination relative to specific anatomic-procedural items; the mothers evaluated the affectual aspect of the mother-student, child-student relationship. (LBH)

Three recent government initiatives that impinge on the ability of the medical and scientific community to provide high quality medical care and to advance knowledge in the biological sciences are addressed at the AAMC meeting. They are categorized as (1) medicine, science, and civil rights; (2) no-risk medical care; and (3) technology and…

The development, organization, and evaluation of an ambulatory rotation, modeled on the experience with a primary care tract and introduced into a traditional medical residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, is summarized. Skills in the evaluation and management of inpatient and outpatient problems are advocated. (Author/MLW)

An analysis of programs and positions in the first year of graduate medical education regarded as acceptable by U.S. medical students suggests that the ratio for all positions is about one per graduate and even less in primary care programs. (Editor/LBH)

A rigorous approach to conducting nonstatistical meta-analyses of research literature is presented and illustrated in a study of literature on primary care medical specialty choice. The approach described includes model development, literature retrieval and coding, quality rating, annotation of high-quality references, and synthesizing the subset…

One reason medical students favor specialization over generalist medicine (primary care) is a perception of generalist medicine as nonrigorous. Chaos science, a new field, reveals an intellectual basis for generalist medicine. The history, strengths, and limits of reductionist thinking in medicine and aspects of chaos theory illuminate this…