The lasting value of clinical skills.

To assess the lasting value of clinical skills learned by residents in a subspecialty-oriented training program in internal medicine, we surveyed recent graduates. Graduates received a questionnaire contrasting separate ratings of the amount of training (preparation) they received during residency with the importance of this training in subsequent career activities. Topics included 12 traditional medical disciplines, 15 areas related to the practice of medicine, 15 allied medical disciplines, ten basic skill and knowledge areas, and 28 technical procedures.

Experience with the simulated patient-physician encounter.

The development of computer-based simulations of the patient-physician encounter has made it possible to give students the opportunity to manage a case without jeopardizing a real patient's life. At the University of Wisconsin Medical School simulated patients have been an integral part of the third-year teaching program for the past five years. They have been used to permit the students to gain clinical experience, as part of a series of structured teaching conferences, and in a medical testing program.

Plasma erythropoietin levels in patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis.

The anemia of chronic renal disease has been attributed primarily to a decrease in erythropoietin (EP) production. Results of this study show that measurable levels of plasma EP can be demonstrated in a majority of patients with end-stage renal failure who are undergoing long-term hemodialysis. These levels were not related to the type of renal disease, nor were they greatly affected by androgenic therapy or by nephrectomy.

The independent study program at the University of Wisconsin Medical School.

A program for 30 additional medical students for the first two years of the University of Wisconsin Medical School curriculum has been developed, and two groups of students have advanced to the clinical years. Design included providing modules of course materials to students and utilizing faculty predominantly in the developmental and managerial role. Preliminary results are based on student and faculty opinion of the program in categories of faculty acceptance, faculty-student interaction, certifying examinations, student attitudes, material developed, and course objectives.