Analysis of 61 inpatient medical writeups by 23 third year medicine clerks found smoking history notations in 74 percent but quantification of exposure much less commonly. None detailed patient addiction or willingness to quit, or included smoking cessation in the patient plan. Students' smoking assessment and cessation skills are seen as poorly…

A 20-week experiential pharmaceutical training program was developed to meet the learning objectives of a traditional externship/clerkship program without the arbitrary separation of clinical activities from distributive and management experiences, and to provide understanding of the purpose of managed care practice and strategic planning process…

Interrater reliability in numerical ratings of clerkship performance (n=1,482 students) in five surgery programs was studied. Raters were classified as accurate or moderately or significantly stringent or lenient. Results indicate that increasing the proportion of accurate raters would substantially improve the precision of class rankings. (MSE)

A study of the influence of clinical experiences on one medical school's students' choice of specialty found that neither early exposure to role models in family medicine nor the order in which specialty clerkships were taken significantly affected students' choice of family medicine. (MSE)

A national survey of master's of social work programs was conducted to ascertain the extent to which curricula include content on "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-III) and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of this practice. Findings suggest strong support for the inclusion. (Author/MH)

Results of a survey of 59 U.S. and 10 Canadian dental schools indicate a potentially serious problem in obtaining and maintaining dental teaching patients to provide clinical experience for dental students, possibly compromising the clinical education process. (MSE)

The Learning Disabilities Unit of New York's State College of Optometry, providing testing and research for learning disabled adults and children and professional instruction and clinical experience for students of optometry and related fields, is described. (MSE)

The introduction of clinical experience into an Australian dental school's first-year student experience is described. Changing attitudes in Australia toward the appointment of full professors in clinical disciplines and the use of those appointments to integrate basic science and clinical dentistry are examined. (Author/MSE)

At the University of Minnesota Medical School a course, Introduction to Clinical Medicine, introduces communication skills; develops interview skills consistent with students' personality, their role as medical students, and the patients' needs; assists students in becoming comfortable as medical students in the hospital setting; and teaches them…

Recent discussion of the ethical problems of biomedical human experimentation has drawn attention to the responsibility of the medical schools for training new clinical investigators and for safeguarding the rights and welfare of the subjects of clinical research conducted in the medical schools and their affiliated hospitals. (Author)

Examines physician's associate (PA) students in terms of the relationships between open-closed-mindedness, effectiveness on clinical preceptorships, and grade point average. (Editor)

The author suggests that attempts to strengthen clinical specialty training must begin with a coordinated effort on the part of all schools to establish graduate clinical education as a fundamental, important and independent element of their academic programs. (LBH)

The Medical College of Pennsylvania uses outstanding senior students as teaching assistants for sophomore students needing additional observation and feedback to increase clinical skills. The seniors are less threatening than faculty and may give more effective feedback. Both student groups are satisfied with the program. (MSE)

Six senior dental students participated in a preprosthetic surgery clinic and then performed implant surgery on patients. Patient reactions were highly favorable. Students and faculty found the prosthodontic phase more difficult than the surgical. Program continuation at the predoctoral level is anticipated. (MSE)

A specially designed patient assessment diagram is proposed as a means of helping optometric student clinicians develop integrative skills in the assessment and management of the patient's problem. A pilot study found students supportive of its use. (MSE)