Medical education
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Medical students and doctors need training in biostatistics. The use of analytic statistics in a leading general medical journal is reported. Of 760 consecutive research and review articles, 42% use statistical methods beyond elementary descriptive statistics. ⋯ Based on the frequencies and our understanding of the importance of broad statistical concepts, recommendations are developed for the basic course in biostatistics. The integration of several more advanced statistics modules into clinical training is also suggested. The use is recommended of clinically oriented textbooks in biostatistics and current journal articles to help make instruction in statistics more relevant for preclinical students, and to help clinicians appreciate the applications of statistics to their work.
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This study investigated the relationship of two widely-used preadmission academic predictors (undergraduate grade point average and the Medical College Admission Test) to a sequence of four goals for a primary care-oriented medical school. Graduates from the first four classes of a new medical school (n = 237) were used in the study. ⋯ Furthermore, no useful predictor of residency performance or choice of a primary care specialty was identified. Provisos related to the conclusions and future research directions are discussed.
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Previous studies suggest that medical students and doctors may express a range of positive and negative attitudes and behaviours towards patients. As an initial attempt to understand how attitudes toward patients are formed, first-year medical students were asked to describe their feelings about six categories of patients. These reactions were then correlated with the students' social background, social values and perception of these conditions.
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Comparative Study
Student characteristics on entry to an innovative medical programme.
The interests, attitudes and motivations of two groups of first-year medical undergraduates, one group from an innovative medical school and one group from a more traditional school were compared. Differences were found between the two groups in their reasons for studying medicine, their attitudes to medical education, and the role of the medical profession. The students from the innovative school placed more emphasis on the interpersonal and practical aspects of medicine as well as a sense of responsibility to the community. Reasons for these differences were discussed.
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An experiment of combining decentralized and interdisciplinary teaching is described. Seminars were arranged at a district hospital for medical, nursing and social work students to discuss families with a chronically ill child. ⋯ The students considered house calls an important part of their education and felt that more interdisciplinary teaching should be included in their curriculum. In addition to the teaching aspect, the families involved also considered the seminars a positive experience as they receive more information about their child's disease, and deficiencies in treatment could be corrected.