Ways in which some students responded to the stress of a two-month psychiatric clerkship in a Veterans Administration hospital are discussed. Particular problems are delineated and methods of preventing and dealing with them are suggested, including: anticipation, sharing concerns, being available, intervention, intrastaff communication, referral…

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)

Data concerning time with patients and time with attending physicians tended to be inversely associated with patient volume in a time-study of family practice residents. The results are used to illustrate and develop some issues involved in the design of residency experiences for primary care physicians. (Editor/LBH)

A comparison of the ability of 12 students trained in an outpatient setting to examine hospitalized patients with that of students trained in the traditional inpatient-oriented program revealed no difference between the two groups. This finding has implications for curriculum planners seeking ways to restructure fundamental courses that develop…

The experience of two combined residency programs in internal medicine and pediatrics is reviewed. The difficulty for residents of achieving competence in two disciplines is compounded by a lack of faculty role models. Success will depend on the ability of graduates to offer special talents to academic and clinical settings. (Author/MLW)

A study that demonstrated that a group of medical residents could independently run microcomputer-based patient simulations and subsequently achieve significant increases in test scores is discussed. This outcome supports the use of computer-assisted instruction to provide a core of self-taught material for a clinical subspecialty rotation.…

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)

Gynecologic teaching associates taught third-year medical students to perform physical examination of the female pelvis and breasts. Evaluations by the students of this teaching method and assessment by the teaching associates of student problems were obtained from questionnaires. (Author/MLW)

A study is described that identified a set of measureable skills, evaluated the effects of a simulated patient program on students' observed interview skills, and tested the ability of trained simulators to evaluate interview skills by comparing simulator ratings and faculty ratings of the same interviews. (MLW)

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)

The intent of an integrating laboratory was to help pharmacy students learn to solve problems, make decisions, and develop good communication skills. Educational units included exercises in guided design, patient profile review, patient inquiries, extemporaneous prescription compounding, clinical literature evaluation, and videotapes of simulated…

The use of microcomputers with programmable database software and document scanners has given the medical education community the necessary technology to manage and operate a patient-encounter log system. A clinical encounter and reporting system at the University of Arizona is described. (MLW)

Design of a modified senior clinical program for a University of Texas dental student with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is described. The modifications required identification of sufficient HIV-positive comprehensive-care patients, often outside the dental school clinic, to provide the student with a broad base of clinical experiences.…

At the end of their clinical clerkship rotations, all students in one medical school's classes of 1988 (N=69), 1989 (N=63), 1990 (N=66) took the Post-Clerkship Examination. This study examined the nature of the patients' satisfaction ratings; reliability of patient satisfaction ratings and number of patients needed to derive reliable ratings; etc.…

Objective: This study examines the issues influencing psychiatrists' decisions to provide care to the under-served geriatric population. Methods: Community-based psychiatrists who see geriatric patients participated in focus group discussions exploring factors that influence the characteristics of their current practices. Results: Personal themes,…