A University of New Mexico pharmacy clerkship in Indian Health Service rural ambulatory clinics is described and its results compared with an urban hospital clerkship. Unique benefits to participants included improved skills in patient counseling and chart screening, more hands-on experience, extensive individual physician consultations, and…

Several approaches that could allow dental schools to conduct clinical care programs more profitably in a difficult economic and health-care climate are offered. Focus is on organizing delivery systems around patient-centered care, achieving optimal care quality, enhancing clinic revenue, minimizing operating costs, and becoming better positioned…

The humanistic qualities of 70 University of Michigan first-year internal medicine residents were rated in 1987-88 and 1988-89 by patients, attending physicians, supervisors, and nurses. Results indicate that all four groups had different view of the humanistic attributes of residents in patient interactions. (Author/MSE)

Current challenges in women's health in the United States are examined, and Public Health Service initiatives to address them are discussed. Regarding women's oral health, special attention in two areas is advised: (1) recruitment, retention, and career development of women in dental research and education; and (2) research on women's dental…

Reports on strategies being developed by medical schools to carry out education in the ambulatory care setting, based on studies of 38 institutions. Highlights three main strategies: longitudinal preceptorships; multi-specialty clerkships; and community-oriented and population-based activities that provide relevant educational experiences for…

A survey of 161 dental-hygiene-program directors investigated perceived future needs for faculty, preferences for type of faculty degree for selection and promotion, the extent to which master's programs are meeting those needs in both numbers and skills, and how the programs can better prepare graduates for the millennium. (MSE)

A national study investigated whether four factors in medical school admission (generalist-admission committee chair, greater representation of generalists on admission committee, offering preferential admission to likely generalists, premedical recruitment activity targeting generalists) affected matriculation of underrepresented minorities and…

Surveys of faculty and graduating students at 125 medical schools found that by 1998 the schools, collectively, had made little progress in accomplishing recommended educational technology goals; there was much more use of technology in basic science courses than in clinical clerkships. Great variability was found across schools in the uses of…

Discusses what the predoctoral dental curriculum should emphasize, in both general content and learning and teaching processes, in order to fully integrate a postgraduate-year experience. Two reports recommending strategies for dental education are compared for suggested curriculum structure, instructional modes, articulation, practicum design,…

Examines changes in student assessment methods in courses and clerkships at eight medical schools participating in a large-scale medical curriculum development project, including specific forms of assessment (self-assessment, feedback, standardized patients). For most schools, changes were controlled by course or clerkship directors and managed by…

Discussion of issues in implementation of problem-based curricula in health professions schools lists some obstacles, offers guidelines for planning the implementation process, describes the use of the guidelines in implementation at one medical school, and outlines some essential elements for success, including administrative support, a…

A survey of 794 program directors in 14 specialties assessed actual and projected changes in the selection process for medical residents and determined the relative weights the directors assigned to personal and academic criteria. Results indicate significant changes in the selection process, including a continuing decrease in residency positions…

Describes a University of Kentucky program in advanced general dentistry offered by compressed video and computer in remote areas of the state. Topics discussed include program development, the technology, instructional design principles used, student recruitment, program evaluation, student evaluation, faculty evaluation, laboratory exercises,…

Proposes a problem-solving process for finding unique solutions for specific learning problems of medical students, particularly in clinical preceptorships. Suggestions are offered for evaluation of the problem learner, including more emphasis on peer and self-evaluation and insights into teaching and implementing the proposed model, including the…

To assess the effectiveness of a curriculum in telephone medicine taught to residents in two medical schools, objective structured clinical examinations were conducted before and after the curriculum was taught. Post-curriculum scores improved significantly, and gains were maintained six months. Residents felt significantly better able to manage…