Article Abstract:
Most board-certified pediatricians surveyed in 1991 used appropriate diagnostic and treatment strategies for streptococcal infections of the throat. Researchers surveyed 510 pediatricians who treated pharyngitis. Eighty percent used appropriate antigen testing and throat culturing to diagnose streptococcal infection, and most treated sore throats with penicillin or derivatives. Only 29% of doctors discontinued antibiotic treatment if tests did not indicate streptococcal infection, a recommended practice. Federal law may have reduced in-office testing since this survey.
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Article Abstract:
Standardized child patients can be used to test pediatric residents. Standardized patients are people who volunteer to allow a resident to examine them as a way of testing the resident's skills. The standardized patient may actually have an illness or may be trained to portray a particular medical problem. Researchers used seven children who acted as standardized patients to test the skills of 56 residents. The residents found the assessment to be challenging and realistic.
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Article Abstract:
There appears to be no association between a pediatric medical resident's competence and his or her medical school grades, scores on exams, applicant interviews, or rank on the National Resident Matching Program. This was the conclusion of researches who asked 10 pediatrics faculty members to evaluate 69 pediatric medical residents. Their rating could not be predicted by any information about the resident collected during the residency application process.
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