The Impact of Internal Medicine Clerkship Characteristics and NBME Subject Exams on USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge Exam Performance.

Background: Residency program directors will likely emphasize the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 2 clinical knowledge (CK) exam more during residency application given the recent USMLE Step 1 transition to pass/fail scoring. We examined how internal medicine clerkship characteristics and NBME subject exam scores affect USMLE Step 2 CK performance.

Design: The authors used univariable and multivariable generalized estimating equations to determine associations between Step 2 CK performance and internal medicine clerkship characteristics and NBME subject exams.

Crossing the Communication Chasm: Challenges and Opportunities in Transitions of Care from the Hospital to the Primary Care Clinic.

Background: Transitions of care from specialty and acute settings to primary care abound. Compared to the continuity in end-of-shift handoffs, care transitions involve provider communication between practices and facilities with their own cultures and bureaucracies. Using the transition from acute care to outpatient primary care for stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) patients as a case study, this qualitative research explored communication practices and institutional arrangements among clinical providers responsible for longitudinal management of hypertension.

Patient safety stories: a project utilizing narratives in resident training.

Incident reports have traditionally been the vehicle for identifying, assessing, and responding to quality gaps in hospitals. Yet because of a variety of barriers, residents often fail to participate in this formal process. The authors created a project to engage residents in incident reporting through the use of an online, anonymous narrative format, faculty-facilitated discussion groups, and involvement of patient safety officers in the educational process.

A Rapid Usability Evaluation (RUE) Method for Health Information Technology.

Usability testing can help generate design ideas to enhance the quality and safety of health information technology. Despite these potential benefits, few healthcare organizations conduct systematic usability testing prior to software implementation. We used a Rapid Usability Evaluation (RUE) method to apply usability testing to software development at a major VA Medical Center.