D. R. Hannay

Computer-assisted learning in undergraduate medical teaching.

A programme of computer-assisted learning has been introduced for fifth-year medical students at Glasgow University during the teaching course in general practice. The programme allows students to make decisions on all aspects of patient care, and has the potential for combining a learning situation with an objective evaluation of skills and attitudes. The programme is popular with students and could have considerable potential in medical education.

Teaching Decision Making to Medical Undergraduates by Computer-Assisted Learning.

Undergraduate medical students improve their ability to make patient management decisions through using computer‐assisted learning. With this problem‐solving approach an improvement in their factual knowledge also occurs and they retain a significant amount of the content.

ACCURACY OF HEALTH-CENTRE RECORDS

Abstract During the first six months of 1972 random monthly samples were taken from the computer records of a new health centre, and a total of 1653 names and addresses visited. Almost half of those drawn were not at the address given, and at least 7·5% could not have been effectively registered at the centre. Updating of the computer file did not necessarily increase its accuracy, although this was beginning to improve. These findings are discussed in the context of present mobility in Scotland, together with their implications for research and management in the health service.

Attitudes towards the content of general practice teaching

In a study of attitudes towards the content of general practice teaching, it was found that there was good agreement between fifth year medical students and their general practitioner tutors. The social aspects of illness were considered the most important by students and both groups emphasized the value of seeing patients in their homes with time for discussion of cases. These findings are discussed in the context of the development of teaching in general practice at Glasgow University.

Medical undergraduate teaching of paediatrics in the community.

The undergraduate teaching of childhood illness in the community is described. This teaching includes a cross‐section of acute childhood illness together with some contact with handicapped children in their own homes. Although there were only four teaching sessions, the frequency of conditions studied approximated to that in general practice.

POSTGRADUATE EXAMINATIONS FOR GENERAL PRACTICE IN CANADA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

The membership examination of the Royal College of General Practitioners (M.R.C.G.P.) emphasises factual knowledge, and it is suggested that a clinical component should be included, perhaps using simulated patients as in the certificate examination of the Canadian College of Family Physicians (C.C.F.P.).

Use of recording booklets to evaluate teaching in general practice

Recording booklets have been introduced for students during their course of general practice teaching at the University of Glasgow. The booklets guide the students with patients in the community who have chronic and complicated diseases.

The population as a patient. A course in community medicine for fifth-year medical students.

The importance of teaching in social and preventive medicine was recognized in the Todd Report (Royal Commission on Medical Education, 1968) and has been further emphasized in the BMA’s planning unit report (1970) on Primary Medical Care. There is considerable variation in the content and timing of teaching by departments of social medicine (Royal College of Physicians, 1966), and some subjects, like sociology, may not be taught by such departments at all (Martin, McPherson, and Mayo, 1967; Hooper and Humphrey, 1968). In Glasgow, during the period 1965 to 1969, the subjects involved have been taught mainly i n the fifth year in a course of 46 to 48 lectures covering the following topics: health and social services (five lectures); aspects of medical care (12 lectures); epidemiology of communicable disease (10 lectures) ; epidemiology of non-communicable disease (six lectures); man’s physical and industrial environment (seven lectures) ; medical statistics (four lectures) ; sociology (three lectures). Although this course had been run by the department of epidemiology and preventive medicine, outside speakers had given over a third of the lectures, especially those on medical care, the physical and industrial environment, and sociology. In addition there had been eight lectures on statistics in the third year, and, in the integrated fourth year, some teaching on the epidemiology of specific diseases. The psychology part of behavioural science was taught in an entirely separate course run by the department of clinical psychology in the third year.