This study examined costs of providing care by undergraduate dental students in dental school clinics. Cost estimates for each procedure were compared to fees charged, determining net cost of providing care. The model is recommended for improving clinic efficiency in this and other dental education clinical settings. (MSE)

A study investigated costs and benefits to five pharmacists serving as preceptors of community pharmacy rotations by examining student work activities, cost of preceptor's time, and time saved by student work. When student work output was assigned a value of 50% of a pharmacist's salary, costs to benefits were balanced. (MSE)

Suggestions for organizing the objective structured clinical examination for medical students and physicians address selection of competencies to be evaluated, number, type, and duration of examination stations, use of examiners, clarity of instructions, test administration, resource requirements, interstation signals, and recordkeeping. (MSE)

A remedial program was designed for Oregon Health Sciences University clerkship students demonstrating adequate clinical skills but inadequate knowledge. In two years, six students were enrolled in the tutorial program. The experience was highly successful for all but one. Participants saw it as one of their best medical school experiences.…

Analysis of the first- and fifth-week clerkship activities of six doctoral pharmacy students focused on student-instructor contact time and the significance of student contributions to patient care. Results indicate both costs and benefits to clerkship instruction and provide a framework for future studies evaluating such instruction. (Author/MSE)

Analysis of data from an annual graduating medical students' survey revealed that a required third-year family medicine clerkship of at least four weeks is associated with a higher percentage of students choosing training and specialty certification in family practice. Whether clerkship inspires or reinforces preexisting choices is not indicated.…

A study compared the performance of dental students following the traditional clinical curriculum that requires exposure to a specific range of discipline-oriented procedures with that of eight similar students in a curriculum focused on meeting patient needs but not traditional curriculum-based requirements. The nonrequirement group had higher…

The strategy used by one health maintenance organization (HMO) for balancing residents' training needs and patient health problems, often limited and routine in an HMO, is to allocate patients to residents by matching them with curriculum content. A process for handling patient resistance to such an arrangement was also instituted. (MSE)

A University of Michigan dental school curriculum for oral surgery that uses human cadaver heads is described. Selection, preparation, and laboratory use of the materials are outlined. Faculty and students have received the sequence well and found it prepared them for clinical rotation. (MSE)

Evaluators in six objective structured clinical examinations were encouraged to add written comments to the traditional checklist rating forms. The 1,283 comments were categorized as trainee performance (technique, content, summary) and organizational comments. Analysis found that the comments were relevant and useful, and provided substantial…

A review of current curricula in United States medical schools indicates a continued need for more adequate instruction of clinical nutrition to physicians in training and in practice. A major problem is failure to provide patient-oriented, case-related teaching in clinical years to all clinical clerks. (Author/MSE)

The didactic and clinical elements of the nutrition curriculum at the University of Washington's School of Dentistry are described, and student course evaluation results are reported. Positive student evaluations are attributed to the fact that application of nutrition principles in patient care is emphasized. (MSE)

It is proposed that, contrary to existing views, medical expertise is not as much a matter of superior reasoning skills or in-depth knowledge of pathophysiological states as it is based on cognitive structures describing the features of prototypical or actual patients. Evidence supporting the theory is examined. (Author/MSE)

An educational administrator program designed to diversify responsibility, integrate the theory-practice relationship, and develop leadership is described in this report. The first section discusses three theoretical perspectives, which are characterized by shared leadership, a collective purpose, conflict, and the constituency of the whole. The…

Decentralized models of medical education, particularly for preparing primary care specialists, are increasing in importance as medical educators become aware of the need for medical students and residents to receive part of their clinical training away from the academic medical center in real practice settings. (Editor/PG)