The effect of clinical experience on diagnosis formulation was assessed by studying physicians at different levels of training. To evaluate whether physicians' knowledge of being part of an experiment affected their formation and modification of diagnoses, physicians signed consent forms and were not informed when videotaping was done. (Author/MLW)

A computer program developed at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine presents simulated patient cases and then scores participants' clinical problem-solving in the cases by comparing their performances with those of faculty members. The validity and reliability of this evaluation system was investigated. (Author/MLW)

Faculty members and residents at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Nebraska were surveyed to determine whether there was agreement on a core of procedural skills that all internal medicine residents should be able to perform. Nineteen procedures were indicated by 90 percent or more of the respondents. (Author/MLW)

An attempt to assess the validity of the personal interview in the selection of residents for the program in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, is reported. The data suggest that the residency interview may be of greater value to applicants than to selection committees. (Author/MLW)

Residency training directors have noted variability in the quality of deans' letters sent by medical schools on behalf of graduating students. Letters from 103 U.S. medical schools received by the University of California--Los Angeles, Neuropsychiatric Institute were rated. Recommendations are offered for authors and readers of deans' letters.…

The primary care pediatric residency program at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has developed a training program in rural primary care. Residents experience the many facets of rural practice and are introduced to community-oriented approaches to child health care. (Author/MLW)

A course in the early detection and outpatient management of alcoholism for medical residents is discussed. Unlike other courses on alcoholism that have emphasized changes in physicians' attitudes, this course was designed to promote changes in residents' practice behavior and to foster the development of necessary clinical skills. (MLW)

In the light of four years of experience, the faculty of Minnesota's Department of Family Practice and Community Health continues to regard practice management as an important area in the training of family practice residents. The process of refinement, both in content and method of presentation, remains a priority. (LBH)

The knowledge encapsulation theory (H. Schmidt and H. Boshuizen, 1992) predicts that experts under certain conditions shift from the use of clinical knowledge to elaborated biomedical knowledge. In normal routine cases, experts process cases with their encapsulated clinical knowledge. These differences in processing are reflected in clinical case…

"Wrap-up rounds," in which students, residents, and faculty physicians involved with patient care in a clinic gather to discuss the clinic session, are advocated. They allow a structured educational program to take place in an ambulatory care center without interfering with patient flow and care. (MLW)

To determine whether objective test items could measure cognitive processes more complex than recall of isolated facts, the committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons preparing the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination classified test items into three taxonomic levels according to the cognitive process required to answer the item.…

A system for evaluating clinical competency of residents was designed to test expert opinions as well as the skills of the practitioner. Four measures of clinical competency were included: data collection completeness; problem identification accuracy; interview skills; and patient and physician assessment. (Author/MH)

Rochester, New York, physicians and graduate medical students' use of laboratory tests as applied to asymptomatic patients was surveyed and their knowledge of four specific screening procedures was tested. The results reinforce the impression that laboratory ordering practices are dependent in part upon factors other than knowledge of test…

A national sample of 25 percent of the graduate education program directors in internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, and pediatrics were asked to judge the importance of 31 variables in the selection of house staff. A rank-ordering of variables for all respondents placed interpersonal skills demonstrated in the interview as number one.…

At the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Penn State an internal medicine consulting resident sees all medical consultation requests not directed to a specific subspecialty division. A survey indicates that consulting residents are exposed to a quantitatively and qualitatively different spectrum of medical problems than on ward service.…