An evaluation procedure designed to measure the effects of university-organized continuing medical education (CME) courses on participants' prescribing behavior was examined. Copies of prescriptions were analyzed to establish real behavior compared with the physicians' self-reports. (Author/MLW)

The Association of American Medical Colleges collects data on financial aid through the Liaison Committee on Medical Education annual questionnaire from its member medical schools. A summary and analysis of 1984-85 data are provided. (MLW)

An accelerated B.S.-M.D. program called the Honors Program in Medicine (HPM) at the University of Miami is described. HPM and traditional program students were surveyed about accelerated medical education. Both HPM and traditional students were satisfied with their own preparation for medical school. (Author/MLW)

A program to prepare future physicians to treat the milder emotional problems often encountered in primary care settings is described. Also reported are the ability of third-year medical students to function successfully in an outpatient setting, the performance of these trainees as compared with that of students in inpatient settings, and an…

A summary of data collected on financial assistance available to medical students through the Liaison Committee on Medical Education Annual Questionnaire of the Association of American Medical Colleges is presented. The 1982-83 report showed that while costs of medical education continued to increase, fewer students received financial aid. (MLW)

A study to determine whether general internal medicine and traditional track medicine residents differed in their outpatient management of essential hypertension is discussed. General internal medicine residents seem to do better in the areas of assessment of drug side effects and patient education. (MLW)

An advance organizer is a set of conceptual statements about the unifying ideas of a topic in terms already familiar to the learner. A study is reported that sought to determine whether two presentations of an advance organizer for a unit on pathogenic bacteria would result in increasing medical students' knowledge and ability to solve problems in…

The trend for gross anatomy programs is toward decreasing contact hours. East Tennessee State University reduces dissection hours by having medical students dissect either the upper or lower extremity, but not both. Subsequently, the dissectors study the opposite extremity. A study of examination results indicates that student learning is not…

A study to evaluate the effect of a resident-staffed continuity clinic providing immediate subspecialty consulting rather than referral is reported. The study compared pediatric and nonpediatric clinics. A reduction in pediatric subspecialty visits occurred where general pediatricians could be expected to have substantial expertise. (MSE)

A study is reported that sought to determine the prevalence and incidence of stress-associated illnesses and to identify possible sources of stress among students enrolled in a combined medical-doctoral (M.D.-Ph.D.) program. The information obtained from M.D.-Ph.D. students was compared with the responses of M.D. students and Ph.D. students.…

The use of reciprocal peer teaching (RPT) was evaluated by first-year medical students participating in gross anatomy laboratory sessions at the University of Ottawa. In RPT each student in turn served as a teacher of his peers. The students compared RPT with staff teaching. (Author/MLW)

Results of the Patient Encounter Project are reported, which documented all clinical experiences of 36 medical students for seven months in the Rural Physician Associate Program and compared these experiences with those of a control group of 26 third-year students in the regular curriculum at the University of Minnesota.

In an Ohio State study, medical students pursuing an independent study program and students in the traditional program performed similarly on part 1 of the National Board of Medical Examiners examinations and in their required clerkships. Differences identified resulted in curricular changes.(Author/MLW)

The clinical experience of 29 medical students, while they were taking elective preceptorships with North Carolina family physicians, is compared with clinical experience in a university medical center in the same state and in practices in Virginia. The findings support the importance of preceptorships in supplementing the clinical experience of…