Journal of general internal medicine
-
Comparative Study
Consistency of performance ranking of comorbidity adjustment scores in Canadian and U.S. utilization data.
The performance of standard comorbidity scores to control confounding is poorly defined in health care utilization data across elderly populations. We sought to evaluate and rank the performance of comorbidity scores across selected U.S. and Canadian elderly populations using health care utilization databases. ⋯ Performance ranking of 6 frequently used comorbidity scores was consistent across selected elderly populations. We recommend that investigators use these performance data as one important factor when selecting a comorbidity score for epidemiologic analyses of health care utilization data.
-
Curriculum development in medical education should be a methodical and scholarly, yet practical process that addresses the needs of trainees, patients, and society. To be maximally efficient and effective, it should build upon previous work and use existing resources. ⋯ The internet provides a rich source of information and materials. This bibliography is a guide to internet resources that are of use to curriculum developers, organized into 1) medical accreditation bodies, 2) topic-oriented resources, 3) general educational resources within medicine, and 4) general education resources beyond medicine.
-
The 80-hour workweek limit for residents provides an opportunity for residency directors to creatively innovate their programs. Our novel day-float rotation augmented both the educational structure within the inpatient team setting and the ability for house staff to complete their work within the mandated limits. ⋯ Educational portfolios and mentored peer-teaching opportunities enriched the rotation. As measured by our evaluation, this new rotation enhanced learning and patient care while reducing work hours for inpatient ward residents.
-
The World Wide Web creates new challenges and opportunities for medical educators. Prominent among these are the lack of consistent standards by which to evaluate web-based educational tools. We present the instrument that was used to review web-based innovations in medical education submissions to the 2003 Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) national meeting, and discuss the process used by the SGIM web-based clinical curriculum interest group to develop the instrument. The 5 highest-ranked submissions are summarized with commentary from the reviewers.
-
We assessed the impact of a 2-week required rotation in homeless health care on primary care residents' attitudes toward homeless people. Attitudes were assessed before and after the course using the Attitudes Toward Homelessness Inventory (ATHI), an instrument previously validated among undergraduate students. ⋯ The ATHI subscales showed, after the course, that residents had a greater belief that homelessness had societal causes and felt more comfortable affiliating with homeless people. After the course, residents also reported an increased interest in volunteering with homeless populations on an anonymous survey.