Medical education on the World Wide Web

(Report of four cases and review of the literature) Calcification of the myocardium is a rare condition. The cause may be dystrophic or metastatic. An autosomal recessive inherited idiopathic arterial calcification of infancy is more rare abnormality. A dystrophic calcification is the more common of the three and may occur in areas of necrosis, hemorrhage, or fibrosis of the myocardium. Metastatic calcification is associated with hyperparathyroidism, D hypervitaminosis or renal failure, usually accompanied by the deposit of calcium in other organs, particularly the lungs, stomach, kidneys, spleen and liver. Authors report four cases of myocardial calcification diagnosed in intrauterine life. They give a review of literature of fetal and neonatal myocardial calcification.     

Medical education: assessment of a regent scheme

As part of a project concerned to identify the emotional and psychological problems experienced by medical students in the Medical School of Aberdeen University and to evaluate the services organized to respond to these, the present study is an assessment of one of these services, the regent scheme. The results of a questionnaire issued to current regents and to students in the second and third years of their course, show discrepancies in the views of the members of the two groups about selection of regents, the matching of regents and regentees, guidance offered about the use of the scheme, assessibility of regents and payment to regents. Comments from both groups indicate dissatisfaction with the scheme and also the wish to see it continue. This study explores some of the reasons for these opinions and for the use of the scheme by only a minority of students; and shows the need for a revision of the scheme.     

Medical education at Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile

Universidad de los Andes School of Medicine started in 1991 with a new medical curriculum aimed at providing a medical education for its students, that is, it attempts to give, together with technical proficiency in medical matters, formation of character and a strong ethical attitude. The curriculum lasts for seven years: five of basic, pre-clinical and clinical theoretical and practical courses, followed by two years of internships in Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Pediatrics, plus a four month period of an elective internship. The courses have an integrated design, in which each matter is presented from multiple perspectives, e.g. in Internal Medicine together with the clinical aspects of disease, the pathophysiology and the pharmacology of the drugs used are presented. Also the Pathology of each disease is given in coordination in the Pathology course. General educational matters such as Anthropology, Psychology, Origin of Living Beings, Theology and Medical Ethics are interspersed in the curriculum. An important feature is the personal counselling system, in which each student may choose an academic counsellor and discuss with him (her) the subjects of his choosing. Clinical practice is given in a system that includes five hospitals and five private clinics that range from general medical practice to Psychiatry or Ophthalmology.     

Medical education change: a detailed study of six medical schools

This article reports a comparative case study of six selected USA medical schools, undertaken to identify factors that facilitate or obstruct innovation in medical education. The findings suggest that the culture of each medical school results from a combination of intra-institutional and external factors. Together these forces influence substantially the fate of educational innovations. The institutional culture influences critical elements such as educational philosophy, leadership and resources provided in support of innovation. Equally important, the culture shapes the level and type of change a school considers and implements. The findings also suggest that the availability of resources and the creative impetus present in schools giving priority to research can benefit the educational goals and facilitate educational change.     

Medical residents' colorectal cancer screening may be dependent on ambulatory care education

Colorectal cancer results in significant morbidity and mortality in the United States. Screening is a critical component of cancer prevention. However, research has suggested that physicians may inconsistently adhere to surveillance guidelines. Since residency training can significantly impact upon future practice patterns, assessment of postgraduate colorectal cancer education is important. This retrospective chart review of patients > or = 50 years of age compared screening performed by resident physicians' in different internal medicine residency programs at The George Washington University Medical Center. Resident physicians who received multiple lectures in colorectal cancer surveillance or were required to document performance of screening on a medical record preventive care summary form performed significantly more rectal examinations (P < 0.0004), fecal occult blood testing (P < 0.00001), and flexible sigmoidoscopies (P < 0.00001) when compared to other resident physicians. Postgraduate education should employ multiple education techniques and reinforcement procedures to increase physician compliance with cancer screening.