An academic general medicine clinic (GMC) was studied and profiles were generated to determine current patterns, shortcomings, and potential solutions. Conclusions include that GMC offers insufficient variety of patient presentations for optimal postgraduate medical education and inadequate accessibility for comprehensive medical care. (Author/JMD)

A seminar devoted to the psychological aspects of medical care has formed the major portion of the psychiatric training of primary care internal medicine residents at the Kenmore Center of the Harvard Community Health Plan. Content issues include professional identity, relationships with coworkers, and difficulties in handling patients.…

A review of 287 patient visits to a teaching hospital polyclinic shows that most patients had multiple problems that required the help of subspecialists. However, the patients' needs for accessibility, comprehensiveness, coordination, and continuity are as great as those of patients receiving primary care. Implications for academic internal…

The unique research methodology of a series of 24 specialty surveys of the professional activities of over 10,000 respondent physicians is described. Illustrative data are presented from five specialties (cardiology, family practice, general internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, and psychiatry), and the study's relevance and implications for…

Over a 4-year period moral reasoning and performance data were studied on 350 resident pediatricians, internists, and practitioners of family medicine from seven different institutions. Clinical performance was measured by faculty ratings, and integrity (moral reasoning) was measured by Kohlberg's Standard of Moral Judgement Interview and Rest's…

A cost containment program initiated in 1975 on the medical teaching service of Charlotte Memorial Hospital, a University of North Carolina affiliated hospital, has led to a significant improvement in hospital house staff utilization of facilities and procedures. In the outpatient setting an actual reduction in patient-encounter cost was realized…

The development, validation, and use of a multiple-choice test to assess physicians' knowledge of current approaches to diabetes management is outlined, and the test's current use among family practice and internal medicine physicians, residents, and medical students is described. (MSE)

The Department of Medicine at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital fosters general internal medicine in a graduate training program with a "medical firm" system of medical care. The firm system consists of four medical teams that care for distinct patient populations, closely integrating outpatient and inpatient care. (Author/JMD)

In an effort to encourage cost-conscious behavior and quality assurance, students in community medicine clerkships at the Medical College of Ohio were required to conduct retrospective reviews of their peers' laboratory usage patterns using information generated by these peers during internal medicine and pediatrics rotations. (Author/JMD)

Internal medicine residency programs that put increasing emphasis on outpatient experience and continuity of care place demands on residents that conflict with inpatient responsibilities. The development and implementation at the University of Virginia Hospital of a rotational scheduling system aimed at alleviating the conflict is described.…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of organizational changes in the general medicine clinic on residents' and patients' satisfaction, including their perceptions of the quality of care. Questionnaires to assess satisfaction were administered to the residents (N=80) and patients (N=577) using a pre- and posttesting design. (MLW)

The different practice styles of young internists and the relationship between training and practice were studied as part of the National Study of Internal Medicine Manpower, Phase III. The practices of four groups of physicians were compared: general internists with traditional residencies, general internists who received their residency training…

A cancer attitude survey is analyzed that was administered to residents and faculty physicians in the departments of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin. Categories surveyed include opinions about the benefits of prevention, risk management, early detection and screening, treatment and care, and…