The feasibility of a web-based counselling program for occupational physicians and employees on sick leave due to back or neck pain

Background  

The objective of this feasibility study was to gain insight into occupational physicians' (OPs) and employees' use of, and attitudes towards, 'Snelbeter' (Get Well Fast), a new web-based counselling program for employees on sick leave due to non-specific back or neck pain and their OPs.     

Use of email for patient communication in student health care: a cross-sectional study

Background  

Citizens increasingly use email in personal communication. It is not however clear to what extent physicians utilize it for patient communication. Our study was designed to examine physicians' activity in using email and to estimate the proportion of email messages missing from documentation in electronic patient records (EPR).     

Physicians' perceptions of an electronic health record-based clinical trial alert approach to subject recruitment: A survey

Background  

Physician participation in clinical research recruitment efforts is critical to many studies' success, but it is often limited. Use of an Electronic Health Record (EHR)-based, point-of-care Clinical Trial Alert (CTA) approach has led to significant increases in physician-generated recruitment and holds promise for wider benefit. However, little is known about physicians' decision-making regarding recruitment in EHR-equipped settings or the use of such EHR-based approaches. We sought to assess physicians' perceptions about recruitment in general and using the CTA approach in particular.     

Factors affecting medical students in formulating their specialty preferences in Jordan

Background  

In recent years there has been a growing appreciation of the issues of career preference in medicine as it may affect student learning and academic performance. However, no such studies have been undertaken in medical schools in Jordan. Therefore, we carried out this study to investigate the career preferences of medical students at Jordan University of Science and Technology and determine factors that might influence their career decisions.     

Making it possible to measure knowledge,experience and intuition in diagnosing lung injury severity: a fuzzy logic vision based on the Murray score

Background  

Murray score is the result of an equation that gives all its variables the same linear contribution and weight and makes use of consented cut-offs. Everyday physicians' vocabulary is full of terms (adjectives) like: little, small, low, high, etc. that they handle in an intuitive and not always linear way to make therapeutic decisions. The purpose of this paper is to develop a fuzzy logic (FL) vision of Murray's score variables to enable the measurement of physicians' knowledge, experience and intuition in diagnosing lung injury and test if they followed Murray's equation predictions.     

Vignette studies of medical choice and judgement to study caregivers' medical decision behaviour: systematic review

Background  

Vignette studies of medical choice and judgement have gained popularity in the medical literature. Originally developed in mathematical psychology they can be used to evaluate physicians' behaviour in the setting of diagnostic testing or treatment decisions. We provide an overview of the use, objectives and methodology of these studies in the medical field.     

Reporting of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the Netherlands: descriptive study

Background  

An important principle underlying the Dutch Euthanasia Act is physicians' responsibility to alleviate patients' suffering. The Dutch Act states that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are not punishable if the attending physician acts in accordance with criteria of due care. These criteria concern the patient's request, the patient's suffering (unbearable and hopeless), the information provided to the patient, the presence of reasonable alternatives, consultation of another physician and the applied method of ending life. To demonstrate their compliance, the Act requires physicians to report euthanasia to a review committee. We studied which arguments Dutch physicians use to substantiate their adherence to the criteria and which aspects attract review committees' attention.     

Changes in use of herbs and dietary supplements (HDS) among clinicians enrolled in an online curriculum

Background  

Little is known about clinicians' use of herbs and dietary supplements (HDS), how their personal HDS use changes with time and training, and how changes in their personal use affect their confidence or communication with patients about HDS.     

Instant availability of patient records,but diminished availability of patient information: A multi-method study of GP's use of electronic patient records

Background  

In spite of succesful adoption of electronic patient records (EPR) by Norwegian GPs, what constitutes the actual benefits and effects of the use of EPRs in the perspective of the GPs and patients has not been fully characterized. We wanted to study primary care physicians' use of electronic patient record (EPR) systems in terms of use of different EPR functions and the time spent on using the records, as well as the potential effects of EPR systems on the clinician-patient relationship.     

Collaboration between physicians and a hospital-based palliative care team in a general acute-care hospital in Japan

Background  

Continual collaboration between physicians and hospital-based palliative care teams represents a very important contributor to focusing on patients' symptoms and maintaining their quality of life during all stages of their illness. However, the traditionally late introduction of palliative care has caused misconceptions about hospital-based palliative care teams (PCTs) among patients and general physicians in Japan. The objective of this study is to identify the factors related to physicians' attitudes toward continual collaboration with hospital-based PCTs.     

Psychological morbidity,sources of stress and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students of Nepal

Background  

In recent years there has been a growing appreciation of the issues of quality of life and stresses involved medical training as this may affect their learning and academic performance. However, such studies are lacking in medical schools of Nepal. Therefore, we carried out this study to assess the prevalence of psychological morbidity, sources and severity of stress and coping strategies among medical students in our integrated problem-stimulated undergraduate medical curriculum.     

Dying from cancer or other chronic diseases in the Netherlands: ten-year trends derived from death certificate data

Background  

For the further development of palliative care, it is relevant to gain insight into trends in non-acute mortality. The aim of this article is twofold: (a) to provide insight into ten-year trends in the characteristics of patients who died from cancer or other chronic diseases in the Netherlands; (b) to show how national death statistics, derived from physicians' death certificates, can be used in this type of investigations.     

Medical school faculty discontent: prevalence and predictors of intent to leave academic careers

Background  

Medical school faculty are less enthusiastic about their academic careers than ever before. In this study, we measured the prevalence and determinants of intent to leave academic medicine.     

Dealing with suicidal patients – a challenging task: a qualitative study of young physicians' experiences

Background  

Suicide is a major public health problem and treating suicidal patients represents one of the most challenging and complex clinical situations for young physicians. Education of physicians is considered an important strategy in suicide prevention. Young physicians often meet suicidal patients early in their career. Limited information is available about how newly educated physicians experience treating suicidal patients. The aim of the study was to shed light on the meaning of newly educated physicians' lived experiences in treating patients at risk of committing suicide.     

The utilization of appropriate osteoporosis medications improves following a multifaceted educational intervention: the Canadian quality circle project (CQC)

Background  

Osteoporosis is a serious but treatable condition. However, appropriate therapy utilization of the disease remains suboptimal. Thus, the objective of the study was to change physicians' therapy administration behavior in accordance with the Osteoporosis Canada 2002 guidelines.     

Pharmacology podcasts: a qualitative study of non-medical prescribing students' use,perceptions and impact on learning

Background  

There is growing research on student use of podcasts in academic settings. However, there is little in-depth research focusing on student experience of podcasts, in particular in terms of barriers to, and facilitators of, podcast use and students' perceptions of the usefulness of podcasts as learning tools. This study aimed to explore the experiences of non-medical prescribing students who had access to podcasts of key pharmacology lectures as supplementary learning tools to their existing course materials.     

Medical students' perceptions of the educational environment at an Iranian Medical Sciences University

Background  

Students' perceptions of their educational environment have a significant impact on their behavior and academic progress. The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions of medical students concerning their educational environment at Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in Iran.     

Termination of pregnancy due to Thalassemia major,Hemophilia, and Down's Syndrome: the views of Iranian physicians

Background  

Genetic disorders due to kindred marriages are common medical conditions in Iran; however, the legal aspects of abortion remain controversial. This study was undertaken to determine physicians' opinions regarding the termination of pregnancy for three genetic diseases: thalassemia major, hemophilia, and Down's syndrome.     

Disagreements with implications: diverging discourses on the ethics of non-medical use of methylphenidate for performance enhancement

Background  

There is substantial evidence that methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin), is being used by healthy university students for non-medical motives such as the improvement of concentration, alertness, and academic performance. The scope and potential consequences of the non-medical use of MPH upon healthcare and society bring about many points of view.     

Recruitment rates and reasons for community physicians' non-participation in an interdisciplinary intervention study on leg ulceration

Background  

This article describes the challenges a research team experienced recruiting physicians within a randomised controlled trial about leg ulcer care that seeks to foster the cooperation between the medical and nursing professions. Community-based physicians in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, were recruited for an interdisciplinary intervention designed to enhance leg ulcer patients' self-care agency. The aim of this article is to investigate the success of different recruitment strategies employed and reasons for physicians' non-participation.