Medical education
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Considerable research has been conducted recently into the notion of patient-centred consulting. The primary goal of this approach is to establish a clear understanding of the patient's perspective on his or her problem, and to allow this understanding to inform both the explanation and planning stages of the consultation. The quality of this understanding is largely determined by the empathic accuracy achieved by the doctor; the primary benefit is a therapeutic rapport between doctor and patient. ⋯ The model appears to capture the dynamic process of establishing a therapeutic relationship (rapport) between doctor and patient, defined by the quality of the doctor's understanding of the patient's perspective on his or her problem. Arguably, the most important contribution of the model is to highlight the fact that 'empathy' and consequent 'rapport' are not mystical or exclusive concepts but, rather, involve the use of specific skills accessible at some level by all.
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The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of how medical trainees define medical errors and what factors influence medical trainees' perceptions of medical errors. ⋯ Trainees' perceptions and attitudes towards errors vary depending on whether they are in their clinical years, the severity of outcome, and whether the error is attributable to an individual or a team. These factors will have to be explored in greater depth if we are adequately to prepare young doctors for the errors they will inevitably make.
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Faculty members often use global rating scales as a method of assessing various characteristics of medical students' clinical performance. The purpose of this study was to determine if some performance characteristics are more highly associated with the overall faculty grade than others. ⋯ The rating on any single characteristic predicts a student's overall grade very accurately. Additional measures do not greatly increase the accuracy of prediction. Our results suggest that faculty make a relatively undifferentiated judgement in assigning student grades, and there is little to be gained by using multi-item forms in assessing medical students' clinical performance.