Standardized patient case problems were administered to approximately 280 final year medical students. Results indicate that performance on a given component of clinical competence shows less consistency when measured on different cases than does performance on different components measured on the same case. (TJH)

A review of 25 studies of the use of videotapes in patient education found that while the technique increases patient short-term knowledge, it is no better than traditional methods in increasing long-term knowledge or promoting compliance with medical regimens. Its strength appears to be in role-modeling. (Author/MSE)

Dental students were videotaped presenting a child's case presentation to a parent. Students who viewed a model videotape demonstrated a significant improvement in performance from their first presentation. Students who evaluated their own tape showed no significant improvement. (Author/MLW)

The father of an infant with motor neuron disease describes his early experiences with medical professionals. He urges that parents see the medical community as assistants in the process of raising a special needs child, and urges that the medical community see parents as full partners. (JDD)

A study examined the attitudes of 227 faculty and 148 house physicians toward the value of touching patients and their relationship to sociodemographic and job characteristics, previous exposure to and concern about human immunodeficiency virus infections, and attitudes toward glove-wearing. (MSE)

Examines behavioral differences between for-profit (FP) and not-for-profit (NFP) nursing homes. Uses a simultaneous equation model to control for potential endogeneity among system variables, with model parameters estimated using 3SLS. Provides evidence that NFPs provide significantly higher quality care to Medicaid beneficiaries and to self-pay…

It is argued that the medical school curriculum should include content on jurisprudence to empower physicians to use the law and their legal colleagues to serve patients and promote public welfare. Developing practitioners' skills and changing attitudes are seen as more important than imparting information about particular doctrines and laws. (MSE)

Investigated effects of art history enrichment of art therapy task on anxiety, time on task, and art product quality among 13 chronic adult psychiatric day hospital patients. Results indicated art history enrichment task reduced anxiety and increased time on task. Art organization level tended toward significant increase compared with control…

Nonparametric item response models were used to investigate psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory in 648 depressed outpatients and 1,182 nonpatient college students. Estimated values for some options did not align with a priori weights in the college sample, and some option characteristic curves were problematic in both samples.…

Identified factors for matching individuals to treatments by surveying experts in the field of obesity about the indications and contraindications of 11 common approaches to weight loss. Experts provided 170 client characteristics as possible matching factors. Discusses potential variables for studies on matching individuals to treatments along…

Guidelines for developing a pharmacy school curriculum based on the principle of pharmaceutical care and professional responsibility are offered, beginning with mission statements for profession, practice, and pharmaceutical education in general. The University of Toronto experience in designing such a curriculum is chronicled as an illustration…

A computer program was used to simulate a case presentation in pharmacotherapeutics. Students (n=24) used their knowledge of the disease (glaucoma) and various topical agents on the computer program's formulary to "treat" the patient. Comparison of results with a control group found the method as effective as traditional case…

Examines interpersonal communication in physician-patient interaction and physician-patient research models; suggests application of these models to librarian-patron interaction. Discusses human characteristics that affect interaction, the need for patient and patron satisfaction and compliance with instructions from interactions, and assumptions…

The level of agreement between the patient and a collateral source with regard to depressive symptomatology was compared for 185 patients with Alzheimer's-type dementia (AD), 57 patients with Parkinson's disease, and 54 nondemented geriatric referrals. Findings highlight the potential insensitivity of patient report in AD. (SLD)

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories (MMPIs) were administered to an urban mixed-race sample of 218 adolescent psychiatric patients. Wiggins scale elevations for African Americans and whites were compared, and the validity of the scales was assessed through comparison with parent observations. Implications for the MMPI-Adolescent content…