A survey of 63 general medical residents found most accepted the psychosocial role of the primary care physician, found it most appropriate in ambulatory care settings, felt ambivalent about their ability to perform it, and assigned it secondary priority in patient care. More attention by training programs to ambulatory care and psychosocial…

Using information drawn from a study of six distinguished clinical medical teachers, six domains of knowledge essential to quality clinical teaching were identified and incorporated in a model: knowledge of clinical medicine, patients, the context of teaching rounds, learners, general principles of teaching and learning, and case-based teaching…

Reports on research by library science students for a public library to determine the information needs of a community's health-care professionals, their views of patient information needs, and the public library's ability to meet those needs. An added benefit was positive public relations with the medical community. (Contains 14 references.) (EAM)

Satisfaction with health care was assessed for 4,794 pre-open-enrollment and 3,624 post-open-enrollment college faculty and staff using measures with general and personal referents and reference to the last physician visit. Prediction of intention to change health care is discussed. Stated intention to change was not a good predictor of actual…

A study measured the effects of a medical college faculty development course in medical interviewing on attitudes toward learner-centered learning. Even though the learner-centered approach was not explicitly taught, participants (n=29) developed favorable attitudes approaching those of the facilitators, and the attitudes were sustained six…

A study investigated possible differences in standardized patient examination scores for three groups of undergraduate (n=176) and graduate (n=221) medical students assessed at different sites over two years. Results show no systematic change in scores over testing dates, suggesting no problems with breach of test security. (MSE)

A study examined the instructional activities occurring in one-to-one clinical medical teaching encounters of 16 family medicine faculty. Seventeen clinical teaching and nonteaching behaviors were investigated. Results suggested that the interactions are largely patient-driven and that physicians focus little attention on traditional teaching…

Diabetes educators have a dual role--to prevent eye disease and to help people with diabetes who are visually impaired achieve and maintain their desired level of independence. Familiarity with the range of adaptive equipment available and utilization of the professional association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, can assist in…

Describes West Indian culture, including belief systems, family patterns, child-rearing practices, racial mixtures, and geography; and explains the importance of culturally relevant approaches to mental health services. The effective clinician must approach clients with an attitude of cultural relativity. (SLD)

Evaluates effectiveness of a clerkship curriculum that teaches core family-practice competencies by focusing on the process of care in a generalist practice. Organizing framework consists of five prototypic visits and their encounter tasks: new problem, checkup, chronic illness, psychosocial problem, and behavioral change. Results indicate…

A study investigated the ability of 415 medical students at four North Carolina medical schools to ask risk-behavior questions and provide risk-reduction advice when interviewing a standardized patient concerned about human immunovirus (HIV) infection. A majority did not assess several important risk factors, and many would have provided incorrect…

Explores nature of physician decision making in the case of elderly who reside in the community. Interviews with 40 physicians revealed 3 dilemma sources: (1) how much to intervene in patients' lives to reduce risk; (2) structural, moral, and medical limits to patient advocacy; and (3) assessing vulnerability and quality of life when pondering…

Survey of 571 second-year residents investigated personal observations of unethical/unprofessional conduct during their first postgraduate year. Behaviors observed included falsification of patient records by others (reported by 44.5%), patient mistreatment (73.5%), others taking credit for their work (46.7%), colleagues working in an impaired…

Lori Arviso Alvord, an associate dean at Dartmouth College, discusses her experiences as the first Navajo woman surgeon. She discusses what Navajo philosophy and traditional healing can contribute to Western medicine, the importance of the patient-doctor relationship, and the personal changes she made to achieve harmony and balance in her life and…

This study examined the utility of cognitive and behavioral constructs (AIDS information, motivation, and behavioral skills) in explaining sexual risk taking among 172 12-20-year-old ethnically diverse urban youths in outpatient psychiatric care. Structural equation modeling revealed only moderate support for the model, explaining low to moderate…