In recent years responsibility for the administration of schools internationally has shifted from education departments towards self‐governing schools. This trend has resulted in major changes to the role of school principals. Such changes in role may impact on the psychological and physical health of principals, but there has been very little research into this population. A survey of the health and wellbeing of a representative sample of 50 principals of State primary schools in Victoria, Australia is reported. Subjects completed questionnaires measuring health‐related behaviour and stress and arousal levels and participated in comprehensive health appraisals. Principals reported better smoking patterns than the population as a whole. Despite a higher socioeconomic status than the population as a whole, the health status of the principals was not apparently better. Principals reported higher stress levels and worse physical health than a group of white‐collar employees of similar socioeconomic status.

In 2009 the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia is introducing a common first year for 11 different undergraduate courses in the faculty. Current prerequisite science entry requirements vary with course and range from none to at least two science or mathematics subjects and from approximately 50 to 99 in Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) scores. Under the previous structure, students in different courses completed a variety of different subjects at first year. Concern about the ability of such disparate groups to complete a common first year led to the current investigation of the relationships between year 12 (final year of secondary school) science subjects and performance in first year university bioscience subjects. Year 12 results for all science-related units and ENTER scores were obtained for all Victorian students enrolling in a first year course in the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2005 and 2006. Regression and other analyses were conducted for five first year bioscience subjects. The ENTER score was the best predictor of academic performance in all units except regional anatomy. Performance in many secondary school science subjects was highly predictive of performance in physiology, combined systematic physiology and anatomy and biomechanics units, but again not for regional anatomy units. It appears that year 12 performance in science subjects and ENTER scores may be important predictors of success in physiology, but not regional anatomy subjects at university. It is possible that regional anatomy is an entirely new subject area that requires new types of learning unrelated to year 12 science subjects.

Numerous clinical tests to diagnose superior labral anterior and posterior (SLAP) lesions of the glenoid labrum have been described. The current systematic review of the relevant literature was undertaken to ascertain the accuracy of these tests as determined by likelihood ratios. Searching of electronic databases yielded 16 papers that had reported test accuracy on a total of 16 separate clinical tests for SLAP lesions, and some combinations of these tests. Although many tests appeared to be highly accurate when initially reported, all tests that had been evaluated by authors other than those who devised the test typically showed poor levels of accuracy in subsequent studies. The results of this review suggest that no one clinical test can be recommended for use in clinical practice to diagnose accurately the presence or absence of a SLAP lesion. It is possible that further investigations into the anatomical basis of these tests may explain the variability in accuracy.

This is the second article in the series of the health of primary school principals in Victoria, Australia.

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