Relationship Between Peer Assessment During Medical School, Dean’s Letter Rankings, and Ratings by Internship Directors

BACKGROUND: It is not known to what extent the dean’s letter (medical student performance evaluation [MSPE]) reflects peer-assessed work habits (WH) skills and/or interpersonal attributes (IA) of students. OBJECTIVE: To compare peer ratings of WH and IA of second- and third-year medical students with later MSPE rankings and ratings by internship program directors. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 281 medical students from the classes of 2004, 2005, and 2006 at a private medical school in the northeastern United States, who had participated in peer assessment exercises in the second and third years of medical school. For students from the class of 2004, we also compared peer assessment data against later evaluations obtained from internship program directors. RESULTS: Peer-assessed WH were predictive of later MSPE groups in both the second (F = 44.90, P < .001) and third years (F = 29.54, P < .001) of medical school. Interpersonal attributes were not related to MSPE rankings in either year. MSPE rankings for a majority of students were predictable from peer-assessed WH scores. Internship directors’ ratings were significantly related to second- and third-year peer-assessed WH scores (r = .32 [P = .15] and r = .43 [P = .004]), respectively, but not to peer-assessed IA. CONCLUSIONS: Peer assessment of WH, as early as the second year of medical school, can predict later MSPE rankings and internship performance. Although peer-assessed IA can be measured reliably, they are unrelated to either outcome

The pseudogap in high-temperature superconductors: an experimental survey

We present an experimental review of the nature of the pseudogap in the cuprate superconductors. Evidence from various experimental techniques points to a common phenomenology. The pseudogap is seen in all high temperature superconductors and there is general agreement on the temperature and doping range where it exists. It is also becoming clear that the superconducting gap emerges from the normal state pseudogap. The d-wave nature of the order parameter holds for both the superconducting gap and the pseudogap. Although an extensive body of evidence is reviewed, a consensus on the origin of the pseudogap is as lacking as it is for the mechanism underlying high temperature superconductivity.Comment: review article, 54 pages, 50 figure

An overview of treatment approaches for chronic pain management

Pain which persists after healing is expected to have taken place, or which exists in the absence of tissue damage, is termed chronic pain. By definition chronic pain cannot be treated and cured in the conventional biomedical sense; rather, the patient who is suffering from the pain must be given the tools with which their long-term pain can be managed to an acceptable level. This article will provide an overview of treatment approaches available for the management of persistent non-malignant pain. As well as attempting to provide relief from the physical aspects of pain through the judicious use of analgesics, interventions, stimulations, and irritations, it is important to pay equal attention to the psychosocial complaints which almost always accompany long-term pain. The pain clinic offers a biopsychosocial approach to treatment with the multidisciplinary pain management programme; encouraging patients to take control of their pain problem and lead a fulfilling life in spite of the pain. © 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelber