"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Making Schools Safer for LGBT Youth: Despite Signs of Progress, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students Say Harassment Persists (Michael Sadowski);…

Stooling is one of the bodily functions most often taken for granted. While parents (and care providers) may be very focused on the quantity and quality of the foods that a child eats, they often pay much less attention to what's coming out the diaper end. A child's stooling pattern has a huge influence on what and how they eat. It can also have a…

The University of Wisconsin--La Crosse offers the first web-based medical dosimetry program in the nation. There is no data to research a program of this type. This research consisted of the evaluation of other distance education programs including health profession programs in addition to face-to-face medical dosimetry programs. There was need to…

To investigate the reliability and feasibility of six potential workplace-based assessment methods in general practice training: criterion audit, multi-source feedback from clinical and non-clinical colleagues, patient feedback (the CARE Measure), referral letters, significant event analysis, and video analysis of consultations. Performance of GP…

Significant motivations and incentives exist for young-adult students to seek a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). With ADHD information readily accessible on the Internet, today's students are likely to be symptom educated prior to evaluation. This may result in false-positive diagnoses, particularly when students are…

Deans of student affairs at U.S. medical schools were surveyed regarding the composition of "dean's letters" (summary letters sent near the end of students' undergraduate medical training to be part of the students' residency applications). They were asked to describe themselves and the letters they write. (MLW)

Background: Population-based surveys on the quality of life of people with Down syndrome (DS) are difficult to perform because of ethical and legal policies regarding privacy and confidential information, but they are essential for service planning. Little is known about the sample size and variability of quality of life of people with DS living…

Although the process of diagnosing invariably begins with a heuristic, we encourage our learners to support their diagnoses by analytical cognitive processes, such as Bayesian reasoning, in an attempt to mitigate the effects of heuristics on diagnosing. There are, however, limited data on the use ± impact of Bayesian reasoning on the accuracy of…

A study found that the admission interview scores for 62 Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) applicants correlated positively with dean's letter ratings given 4 years later and that interview scores were better predictors of ratings than were total Medical College Admission Test scores or science grade point averages. (Author/MSE)

Despite a lack of agreement on its validity as a predictor of performance during residency, the dean's letter of recommendation has become an important factor in each medical student's application to postgraduate training programs. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the content of dean's letters was conducted. (MLW)

Nine studies that examined the use of referral reply letters that transferred information from specialists to referring physicians were analyzed. Although research indicates that physicians are receptive to such letters as sources of learning, little educational content was actually included in the letters. (Contains 39 references.) (SK)

This publication is designed to help teachers, nurses and paraprofessionals meet the challenges of dealing with children who have serious medical problems. It contains information on training, health and safety, and legal rights and responsibilities. Specifically, this third edition sets out to accomplish three goals: (1) to educate American…

Analysis of student and administrative attitudes toward grading systems reveals preference for pass/fail grading to letter-grading or numerical system. These results and inadequacies of letter grade system lead author to question why approximately 50 percent of 85 medical schools sampled persist in using it. (Author/LP)

Text, illustrations, and exercises are utilized in this set of three learning modules designed to instruct medical secretaries and clerks in various job-related skills. The first module, "Completion of a New Patient Registration Form" by Betty R. Kisbey, details the information which should be included in a new patient registration form;…

Deans' letters of recommendation can be regarded as measuring instruments that are used in the selection process to evaluate and predict the future performance of residents and interns. This study demonstrates that the dean's letter can be a reliable and valid measure of medical student performance that correlates with performance in residency…