Examines the major transactions regarding violence during the course of transcribed psychiatric evaluations for 92 recently violent patients. Coded and cross-tabulated the mentioning and action taken for patients describing violence. Findings support a progressive decrease in the discussion of violence and apparent breaches in the flow of…

Surveyed 63 people with spinal cord injury (SCI) in either their first, second, or fifth year post-injury. Results indicated that perceived levels of self-esteem decreased following the SCI. Found that self-esteem was lowest in the second year of injury. Self-esteem may be connected to loss of employment. (RJM)

Examined adolescents' perceptions of their family environments and suicidal behavior. Fifteen suicidal adolescents, 14 psychiatric controls, and 14 normal controls rated their families on cohesiveness, adaptability, parent-adolescent communication, parental caring, and parental overprotectiveness. Suicidal adolescents rated their families as least…

A survey of Oregon dentists (n=248) and dental hygienists (n=235) investigated frequency of patient-initiated sexual advances and methods of dealing with them. Up to 44 percent experienced 1 or more patient verbal advances, and 23 percent experienced physical advances during a 5-year period. Inclusion of related issues in professional curricula is…

A study of factors influencing medical students to choose primary care careers, in contrast with high-technology careers, found students attracted by opportunity to provide direct care, ambulatory care, continuity of care, and involvement in psychosocial aspects of care. Age, race, gender, marital status, and some attitudes were not influential.…

The use of videotape recordings of resident-patient encounters for review of medical situations and issues is discussed. Practices at McMaster University (Ontario) are described, and two examples in which the recordings helped students develop objectivity are presented. It is proposed that the method is useful and feasible. (Author/MSE)

Sport-specific preparticipation examinations do not address social problems (drug abuse, suicide, murder, accidents, and sex) epidemic among teenagers, but they are often the only contact these youth have with a physician. This article discusses these risk factors and presents methods for assessing them during preparticipation exams. (SM)

A study of medical clerkship students' time allocations found the greatest time expenditures in personal activities, then organized educational activities (rounds, conferences, lectures, chartwork, patient contact, examination study, ancillary activities, procedures, and directed study. Students slept 5.8 hours per night. Better balance of patient…

Gender and decade-of-life effects on quality-of-life (QOL) experiences of the chronically mentally ill (CMI) are examined using data (n=469) from previous QOL research. Gender and decade-of-life affect objective QOL experiences more than life satisfaction. Data show a difference in midlife psychological adjustment between CMI males and females.…

In a survey, 1,851 registered nurses evaluated 232 internists' humanistic qualities, communication skills, and selected aspects of their clinical skills. Their ratings corresponded moderately with peer physician evaluations and had a common structure but were lower for several humanistic qualities. A reliable assessment required 11-15 nurses'…

Analysis of records on the number of activities engaged in outside the institution of 24 individuals with mental retardation moving from a hospital in County Durham (United Kingdom) to community-based homes found that home size, degree of disability, and number of trips made before moving were correlated with the number of trips from the home…

Three elements of persuasion (source, message, and audience) are discussed, and a paradigm for persuasion, the Elaboration Likelihood Model, which unifies many existing attitude theories, is described. Selected concepts and research on attitudes and persuasion are also examined as a context for teaching preventive behaviors and strategies in…

Since Magic Johnson's retirement, athletes and sports organizations are more interested in HIV and AIDS. Many seek answers from physicians about the risk of transmission through athletic competition and the rights of HIV-positive players. Physicians can counsel patients about reducing risk. The article discusses risk, testing, policies, education,…

Some problems in the changing pattern of relationships between bedside teaching, clinical research, and provision of medical services in academic hospitals are examined, including patient types, sophistication of medical intervention, and specialization. Four elements of government policy that might favor desirable development in these areas are…

The application of a newly developed instrument for the assessment of patient function in rehabilitation is discussed. The 18-item Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was used to rate 187 patients requiring inpatient rehabilitation. Practical uses of the FIM are discussed in view of its satisfactory reliability and validity. (SLD)