A pilot program at the University of California, Davis, that incorporated skilled nursing facility training into the required curriculum of their primary care internal medicine residency is described. The goal was to increase the residents' knowledge in the care of geriatric patients. (MLW)

Two internal medicine residency programs at Baylor College of Medicine are discussed. The traditional program emphasizes experience in the care of acute problems within a hospital inpatient environment. The primary care residency program emphasizes training in the outpatient environment and in noninternal medicine disciplines. (MLW)

Results of a survey to document the nature and volume of ambulatory care in the community, based on an assessment of the visit, indicate that nearly four of five ambulatory visits made to physicians are for primary care and that all physicians, even the most specialized, provide a substantial amount of primary care. Implications for medical…

Self-care programs and information sources should serve as a catalyst to facilitate appropriate care seeking behavior in college students and improve communication with health professionals. Health professionals in self-care provide proper encouragement, skills, and resources to enable individuals to involve themselves in appropriate self-care…

Although generalist physicians have traditionally been defined by their specialties (family, internal, pediatric medicine), this approach may not recognize specific competencies and training needed. A new definition based on functional requirements of generalist practice and the central role of the generalist in comprehensive care is proposed.…

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 method for selecting which procedural skills should be mastered by medicine residents is described. Residents and faculty at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine were asked to select from a list skills essential to completing the three-year general internal medicine residency. (Author/MLW)

To lessen the traditional mind-body dichotomy in medicine, the West Virginia University School of Medicine has integrated psychiatry into the Department of Internal Medicine and the university hospital's psychiatric ward has been transformed into the Conjoint Medicine Service. Patients with a variety of emotional and medical problems are admitted.…

The way that residents in internal medicine allotted their time during patient management rounds was determined. House staff teams were observed for four days, and the time spent on all activities was recorded. The study suggests that medical educators should be concerned about the thoroughness of house staff work rounds. (Author/MLW)

The continuity of health care includes three elements: cognitive, management, and relationship. Exploration of each expands the understanding of continuity in medical practice. Continuity of care can be evaluated in both undergraduate and residency programs by the application of the criteria offered. (Author/MLW)

At the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Penn State an internal medicine consulting resident sees all medical consultation requests not directed to a specific subspecialty division. A survey indicates that consulting residents are exposed to a quantitatively and qualitatively different spectrum of medical problems than on ward service.…

The spectrum of patients seen in a traditional hospital-based training program is compared with patients seen in the University of Minnesota's ambulatory care clinic. Records were kept of the author's primary care experience with 687 patients. (LBH)

The demographic, diagnostic, and prognostic characteristics of patients treated by house staff members rotating through the general medical wards of the Houston Veterans Administration Medical Center was studied. The data indicate that VA hospitals make a significant contribution to internal medicine training. (Author/MLW)

A series of workshops demonstrating technical skills and practical procedures in internal medicine was conducted for fourth-year medical students. The workshops provided the students the chance to observe and in some situations to perform the technical procedures under supervision before beginning their residencies. (Author/MLW)

The effectiveness of medical consultation studied at Johns Hopkins Hospital was measured as a function of compliance by the requesting physicians with the consultants' recommendations. Compliance rates are discussed. The definitiveness of the advice offered was significantly related to compliance. (MLW)