Review of 11 studies of health professions curricula incorporating training in professional self-assessment found initial student disorientation and distrust to be common. However, among successful programs both noncognitive and cognitive benefits appeared. Results suggest that self-assessment training promotes more mature, collegial, productive…

This keynote address offers suggestions for structural change in dental education to meet changing societal needs including programs tailored to specific local community needs, interdisciplinary efforts, public-private cooperative projects building on local health care community strengths, and international collaboration supporting both health…

A dental educator offers suggestions for the future role of dental schools and of dental education programs in greater recognition of the importance of women's oral health. Specific interventions addressing current and future health care needs are outlined. Curriculum, accreditation, legislation, and information dissemination are considered. (MSE)

Identifies and characterizes five major curricular-reform movements in North American medical education since 1765: the apprenticeship-based model; a discipline-based model; the organ-system-based model; the problem-based model; and a clinical-presentation model. Discusses principles and practices and disadvantages and advantages of each. (MSE)

A study used focus groups to allow students, general-dentistry residents, and dental faculty to discuss issues related to learning to use touch in dental treatment. Analysis of group interactions indicated that learning to touch dental patients was often trial-and-error, and uncomfortable for students. A fine line exists between preventing…

Columbia University (New York) dental-school study examined educational/patient care effects of changing from a numerical requirements-driven clinical curriculum to a comprehensive-care model driven by patient needs and led by faculty group leaders. Results suggest a significant increase in number of treatment plans completed by students, with no…

A study investigated the effectiveness of two- and 3.5-day domestic-violence interclerkships in improving the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of two successive cohorts of University of Massachusetts third-year medical students. Participating students immediately and significantly improved in each of these areas and fully or partially sustained…

Proceedings of the conference on improving the social responsiveness of medical schools include papers on the role of medical schools in relation to societal needs, the missions of medical schools (from North American, European, African, and Asian perspectives), measuring social responsiveness (perspective of the United Kingdom, standard-setting,…

Lists ten ways in which having medical students in the community physician's office can be of value to preceptors, including providing valuable but time-consuming patient services, following up on phone calls, providing computer skills, performing minor office procedures, reviewing medical records, helping with paperwork, stimulating preceptor…

An expert panel, convened by the National Institutes of Health to address concerns about the future of clinical research, describes a training program at the National Institutes of Health that also included dental students. Possible reasons for low application rates among dental students are ascribed to inadequate dissemination of information,…

Survey of admission directors at 12 medical schools with the largest underrepresented minority (URM) populations found diversity in the makeup of admissions committees and weighting of quantitative and qualitative factors. Although no school gave URM status a specific weight, one added points to a diversity index used as a quantitative measure.…

Compares and contrasts the primary outcomes and methods used to evaluate curricular changes at eight medical schools participating in a large-scale medical curriculum development project. Describes how the evaluative data, both quantitative and qualitative, were collected, and how evaluation drove curricular change. Although the evaluations were…

A survey of 126 second- and third-year dental students investigated their preparation strategies for end-quarter examinations, including strategic use of study resources, influence of course characteristics and organization, and time management. Compares students with high and low achievement and suggests different studying strategies. (MSE)

A study investigated outcomes of a University of California, Davis medical school two-day course on managed care on 428 medical students, residents, faculty, and physician-administrators. Results indicate that, before the course, baseline levels of knowledge were low among faculty and trainees, and attitudes combined negativism and wishful…

A scale designed to measure professional attitudes and behaviors associated with the medical education and residency training environment was pilot-tested by 529 medical students and residents in five institutions. The scale's internal reliability was relatively high, and factor analysis revealed three subscales. Results are interpreted as an…