In This Issue

Willis et al provide key pointers on the use of cognitive interviewing to improve surveys used in medical education research and evaluation (p. 353). Sullivan discusses why many academic physicians experience difficulties with scholarly writing, and provides practical strategies to overcome them (p. 357).

Using 2 case presentations, Ramani describes the dangers of a “near complete faith” in the admitting diagnosis and the resultant dearth of independent inquiry (p. 362). Snyder and colleagues discuss the advantages for individuals and teaching institutions of providing on-site child care for residents and faculty (p. 365). Drolet et al studied duty hour reporting and found that many residents violate the standards, though junior residents were more likely to report noncompliance (p. 368).

McNeill summarizes the uses, formats, and outcomes of morning report across different nations and settings and finds that a majority of articles are from the United States (p. 374). King and Hoppe's comprehensive review of the literature on interpersonal and communication skills and clinical and satisfaction outcomes aggregates the evidence for the value of 1 of the 6 competencies (p. 385).

The Editors' Choice articles address a broad range of topics, from educational milestones to accountability to resident responses to mass casualty events. Reddy et al report that stakeholder perceptions of social accountability in graduate medical education converged on increasing workforce diversity, training, and care to best serve patients as well as service to communities and the public (p. 439). Auseon and colleagues describe an intervention to increase the number of underrepresented minority physicians in a cardiology fellowship (p. 481). In a commentary, Nivet and Berlin recommend 3 approaches: connecting resident diversity with medical student and faculty initiatives, considering institutional culture, and using data-driven efforts to increase diversity (p. 526). Snipes et al discuss emergency medicine physicians reporting for duty during mass casualty events (p. 417). A commentary focuses on education and practical interventions to overcome concerns for family safety and welfare as a potential barrier to willingness to report (Hendrickson, p. 524). Aagaard and colleagues report that the current Internal Medicine Milestones for patient care and systems-based practice show construct validity and perceived utility for resident assessment (p. 433).

Didwania et al find that clinical experience does not predict handoff skills, noting that residents with substantial clinical experience may still benefit from further skills development (p. 394). Cordero and colleagues studied residents' preparedness for neonatal resuscitation, finding skills gaps and highlighting a need for added training and deliberate practice (p. 399). A study of physician weight during residency finds that overweight status increases by training year and may affect physicians' long-term health (Leventer-Roberts et al, p. 405). In a commentary, Lobelo and Garcia de Quevedo call on physicians to be early adopters of healthy behaviors and serve as role models for patients and communities (p. 521). Rothberg and colleagues evaluate a psychiatry evidence-based medicine test and find it useful in assessing residents' developing knowledge of evidence-based medicine (p. 412). Fletcher et al find that self-reported workload for on-call interns is not associated with objective measures but subjective load is higher when interns receive sign-out and care for cross-covered patients (p. 427). Falcone and Feinn report that implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) duty hour standards was associated with changes in board examination performance across surgical disciplines, though the effects were not unidirectional (p. 446). Moazed et al study simulation-based learning of critical care skills, and find that a “boot camp” is an effective and efficient model for training first-year residents (p. 458).

Visconti and colleagues describe a focused intervention that significantly improved the probability that residents with identified deficiencies will pass the Emergency Medicine Board Examination (p. 464). Schlaudecker et al present a 3-day unfolding case study using standardized patients to simulate 10 years of caring for a patient with dementia and the patient's caregiver daughter (p. 468). Donato and Harris report that faculty assessment of resident teaching portfolios identified aspects of formal teaching and may be useful in creating scoring rubrics (p. 476). Ey et al find that a resident wellness program reduced cost and access barriers but note that more research is needed to address gender and ethnic differences in how residents address their personal care needs (p. 486).

Two reports by Schnobrich and colleagues address the use of ultrasound in internal medicine by introducing a curriculum for teaching basic ultrasound skills (p. 493) and reporting the results of a national survey of the use of point-of-care ultrasound (p. 498). Edje et al summarize the findings of a pilot study using Skype technology to reduce time and financial costs for residency interviews (p. 503). Richards et al assess pulmonary/critical care medicine fellows' interest in acquiring teaching skills (p. 506). Asuncion et al describe an end-of-life communication and pain management curriculum for pediatrics residents (p. 510).

Middlemas and colleagues advise on the use of standardized patients in assessing interpersonal and communications skills (p. 515). Iobst et al offer practical guidance for teaching and assessing critical reasoning (p. 517).

In Observations, Kothari et al discuss differences among specialist providers regarding good communication (p. 528) and Yunyongying and Gove propose separating the roles of formative and summative evaluators for resident assessment in the Next Accreditation System (p. 530).

Heist describes his successes and failures in introducing poster presentations as a visiting faculty member in Japan (p. 531). Bly and Bly discuss consult courtesy and offer recommendations to enhance the requests for consults and the consult process itself (p. 533).

A second report on changes in the site-visit process resulting from the transition to the Next Accreditation System summarizes emerging elements of the ACGME Self Study and the Self Study site visit and pilot testing of selected elements of the Self Study visit (p. 535).