Methods of attitude assessment for medical teachers.

A variety of methods to assess attitudes toward patient care, the medical profession and medical education have been described. Direct, written methods have been most widespread; they are most useful with anonymous respondents when group, rather than individual, data are sought. Examples of disguised, written and audio-visual methods were also presented to stimulate readers to experiment with these approaches. Finally, observational methods were reviewed to capture behaviours in real and simulated situations that reflect attitudes.