A long-range plan to evaluate medical students' physical examination skills was undertaken at the Ingham Family Medical Clinic at Michigan State University. The development of the psychomotor skills evaluation model to evaluate the skill of blood pressure measurement, tests of the model's reliability, and the use of the model are described. (JMD)

A survey of 55 pharmacy schools found that of those offering a pharmacy doctoral program, three-fourths had a separate course devoted to physical assessment of patients, most offered in the third professional year. Most require students to demonstrate use of stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, ophthalmo-otoscope, tuning fork, reflex hammer. Reasons for…

By graduation, all medical students should be able to demonstrate appropriate attitudes, core knowledge, and basic skills in assessment and intervention with patients at risk from or experiencing violence. Postgraduate medical training should prepare physicians with specialized knowledge and skills, and faculty development for medical school…

Describes a conceptual framework to help pharmacy students and practitioners identify and document drug-related problems. Presents a preliminary description and taxonomy, using principles established within nursing's diagnostic structure, and discusses implications for contemporary pharmacy practice and education, including delineation of…

Cooperative training programs were evaluated through content analysis of 74 role-played interviews of video-recorded investigations that focused on culturally relevant questioning skills. Results identified 119 questions and statements rated by professionals as helpful in interviewing children suspected of having been sexually abused. All…

There is an increased incidence of language-learning disabilities with dyslexia by school age. As infants and toddlers, these children have neuromotor and speech dysfunction within their first year. This article postulates that the language and motor dysfunction is caused by infantile presentation of developmental dyspraxia rather than a…

Parents of 153 children with autism completed a questionnaire on early childhood behaviors of concern and age of onset. Parents identified the following concerns: gross motor difficulties; social awareness deficits; communication problems; and unusual preoccupations. There was a significant interval between parents first noticing abnormalities and…

The identification of clusters of behavior that are commonly seen in infants with prenatal drug exposure is discussed, as are intervention techniques that have been successful in hospital and home programs. Reading behavioral cues, modifying the environment, and providing support for the infant's attempts at self-regulation are suggested.…

Development of an inexpensive but powerful computer program to teach clinical periodontal diagnosis using epidemiological principles is described. Using probabilistic thinking, the student is guided from application of raw research data to derivation of likelihood ratios and how they affect clinical decision making. Student response was found to…

Principles of comprehensive assessment of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are examined in relation to legal compliance, special considerations for cultural diversity, medical diagnosis versus educational identification, and the problem-solving assessment model. Strengths and weakness of specific strategies are identified as…

A University of Georgia physical assessment course for entry-level doctoral pharmacy students is described. The course focuses on provision of patient care and communication skill development, not strictly physical diagnosis. It includes classroom instruction in interviewing and physical assessment techniques, case studies, and a three-hour…

This article notes that children with developmental difficulties may exhibit qualitatively different behaviors in addition to or instead of developmental delay. It offers a rationale for neurobehavioral assessment and describes a new instrument, Neurobehavioral Indicators of Atypical Development, that is designed to assist in early screening and…

A self-report measure for the Type A subcomponent of time urgency and perpetual activation (TUPA) was developed using 10 coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and validated with another 48 CHD patients. The internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities indicate that the instrument has clinical and research applications. (SLD)

In a study of special education programs in five urban school districts, parent interview data for 1,726 children (elementary school students) indicated how the students' problems were identified and how the medical system was involved in the diagnosis. Implications for physicians and educators are discussed. (SLD)

Three methods of designating everyday-dysfunction cases in the Colorado Social Health Survey are compared for a sample of 4,745 adults. The clinical judgment approach was chosen as the primary method of identification, with the statistical deviation criterion a backup. The patient criterion group approach was less useful. (SLD)