A new method of coding verbal interaction was applied to 52 interviews with adults in a general medical screening clinic. "Average interaction profiles" for patients and physicians were determined that give quantitative indices of crucial aspects of the physician-patient relationship, such as the manner in which information is transmitted.…

Ways in which some students responded to the stress of a two-month psychiatric clerkship in a Veterans Administration hospital are discussed. Particular problems are delineated and methods of preventing and dealing with them are suggested, including: anticipation, sharing concerns, being available, intervention, intrastaff communication, referral…

A study that demonstrated that a group of medical residents could independently run microcomputer-based patient simulations and subsequently achieve significant increases in test scores is discussed. This outcome supports the use of computer-assisted instruction to provide a core of self-taught material for a clinical subspecialty rotation.…

The results of a survey of patients at three community health centers operated by the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford are presented and discussed. The research was designed to obtain a better understanding of the patient's views on the quality of care and medical students. (Author/MLW)

Gynecologic teaching associates taught third-year medical students to perform physical examination of the female pelvis and breasts. Evaluations by the students of this teaching method and assessment by the teaching associates of student problems were obtained from questionnaires. (Author/MLW)

The results of a study of an undergraduate psychopharmacy rotation in an inpatient hospital setting are detailed and its influence on pharmacy graduates careers in pharmacy is assessed. Features of the rotation included the students' participation in patient care activities and patient education about medications. (Author/MLW)

The use of microcomputers with programmable database software and document scanners has given the medical education community the necessary technology to manage and operate a patient-encounter log system. A clinical encounter and reporting system at the University of Arizona is described. (MLW)

This paper argues that in the debate over medical ethics and its role in medical education, the divergence of law and reality reflects the law's flawed medical model, which poorly matches the dynamic of the physician-patient relationship and attempts ineffectually to reshape it, and also medicine's autonomous professional culture, which…

A program used role playing to help physicians and nurses to understand problems in gaining patient compliance with medical regimens. Practitioners found they gained insight into sources of patient noncompliance and were able to generalize the experience to later interactions with patients. (Author/MSE)

At the end of their clinical clerkship rotations, all students in one medical school's classes of 1988 (N=69), 1989 (N=63), 1990 (N=66) took the Post-Clerkship Examination. This study examined the nature of the patients' satisfaction ratings; reliability of patient satisfaction ratings and number of patients needed to derive reliable ratings; etc.…

A survey of 575 family-medicine patients in academic and community settings found most willing to have a medical student involved in their health care. One-third reported that students did at least part of the physical examination. Many patients said they would appreciate a medical student's attention. Almost half perceived that student…

Reports on a preliminary stage of a project funded by the Federal Office of Public Health in Switzerland to gain insights into physician-patient communication regarding Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and apply findings to their teaching programs. Particular focus is on aspects of communication relating to primary prevention of HIV and…

The established professional practice requiring informed consent for the disclosure of personal health information with its implied right to privacy suffered a serious setback with the first federal privacy initiative of the Bush administration. The new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 (P.L. 104-191) privacy…

Patient information leaflets are an important adjunct to verbal exchange between doctor and patient. Their value is dependent upon whether they contain useful information from the viewpoint of the patient and are easily understood. We developed a framework based upon linguistic theory for assessing the quality of written patient information and…

We examine whether racial/ethnic/language-based variation in measured levels of patients' trust in a physician depends on the survey items used to measure that trust. Survey items include: (1) a direct measure of patients' trust that the doctor will put the patient's medical needs above all other considerations, and (2) three indirect measures of…