Factors related to medical school application and acceptance in minority summer enrichment program students.

Baylor College of Medicine has conducted a summer enrichment program for minority/disadvantaged premedical students since 1969. Follow-up data on medical school application and acceptance for participants from 1980 through 1984 were analyzed in relation to selected preprogram variables--cumulative college grade point average, total Scholastic Aptitude Test score, competitiveness of undergraduate college, sex, and ethnicity. Results of univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that: 1) females were significantly less likely to apply to medical school than males, 2) females had significantly lower mean MCAT scores (5.9 vs 7.2) even though their preprogram academic performance was comparable to that of the males, and 3) after controlling for MCAT scores, none of the preprogram variables were significant in predicting medical school acceptance. These findings suggest the need for research to explain the discrepancy between male and female MCAT performance and frequency of medical school application in summer program participants. The findings also have implications for the type of counseling provided to female participants in summer enrichment programs.

Social work and primary health care: an integrative approach.

An interinstitutional, interagency Consortium has been formed in Houston to develop an innovative service model and provide interdisciplinary primary care/mental health training. The Houston Consortium Program integrates mental health professionals and trainees into the primary care framework of a neighborhood center serving a low-income, predominatly Mexican-American population. The introduction of mental health, psychosocial, and cross-cultural perspectives to complement the long-standing physiological concerns of health professionals fosters an holistic approach to patient care. The social workers' full participation as members of primary care teams builds upon their traditional training to provide them the experience and skills required to function effectively in the expanded coordinative capacity of health/mental health manager as defined by the President's Commission on Mental Health. It is anticipated that Consortium Program can serve as a heuristic model in the development of a nationwide pattern of comprehensive care.

Mental health in primary care training and practice: an innovative approach.

The need to augment the number of primary care physicians throughout the nation has been well documented. Moreover, there is increasing recognition of the importance of mental health in primary care practice. The authors present a working definition of primary care practice, discuss the role of mental health in primary care, and describe an innovative program developed in Houston which integrates primary care mental health training into the education of primary care physicians and mental health professionals.