Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, and the majority of hospital admissions of patients with cancer occur because of uncontrolled, urgent symptoms. In addition to complex physical presentations, these patients often manifest a number of complex emotional and psychological responses resulting in a unique…
The article by Spagnoletti and colleagues in this issue of the Southern Medical Journal makes a strong argument for the benefits of faculty development in how to help medical trainees build and refine clinical communication skills.1
Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine if pain control was adequate despite our policy of limited opioid use. Methods: In this observational cohort study, we reviewed 300 consecutive patient charts from an internal medicine department. We extracted demographic data, as well as the patients’ primary diagnosis, pain…
Should euthanasia and assisted suicide be the task of physicians? Is it unethical for physicians to perform these procedures at the request of their patients in countries where they are legally permitted? How can medical professionals reconcile patient autonomy with professional responsibility in end-of-life care? Continued advancements in medical technology…
Objectives: Concerns regarding lack of privacy, poor patient understanding, and physician discomfort have led to a decline in rounding at the bedside. Our project explored patient perceptions of the implementation and value of bedside rounding. Methods: This mixed-methods study used semi-structured qualitative interviews and a five-item Likert survey, which included…
Objectives: Although opportunities exist for medical educators to gain additional training in teaching, literature that describes how to teach educators to teach communication skills to trainees is limited. The authors developed and evaluated a faculty development course that uses didactics, demonstration, drills, and role-play in a small-group format. Methods: The…
Objectives: Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO) is recognized increasingly as a distinct clinical entity and is associated with higher comorbidities compared with patients with asthma and COPD alone. Little is known about the leading causes of death related to ACO in the US general population, however. Our aim…
When is a resident’s training complete? When her test scores prove she has retained a set of medical knowledge? When she attains behavioral milestones in communication skills, interprofessional teamwork, and quality improvement? When she embraces diversity, listens for unspoken pain, and satisfies the standards set by Hippocrates and HIPPA (Health…
Objectives: The Sengstaken-Blakemore (SB) tube is used in cases of uncontrolled variceal bleeding. Because of the complexity of the procedure and the lack of visualization, various techniques have been described to avoid blind placement. We report an innovative and simple technique for placement of the SB tube under direct endoscopic…
Objectives: Mentor relationships are a key component of professional development within academic medicine. To date, there are no investigations into the prevalence and effects of mentor relationships within military academic medicine. This quality improvement initiative aimed to establish the prevalence and effects of mentorship, including whether sex differences exist among…
We are pleased to publish in this issue of the Southern Medical Journal an editorial by Dr Ramin W. Parsa-Parsi of Germany regarding a conference in Europe on the topics of euthanasia and assisted suicide.1 This conference was held at the Vatican under the auspices of the World Medical Association…
Objectives: This study had three aims: assess the extent to which middle school children in southern Alabama were classified as overweight or obese; determine the magnitude of the relation between children’s attitudes toward healthy eating and their actual dietary choices; and examine the role of race, sex, and ZIP codes…
Objectives: Despite possible long-term repercussions, few training programs teach their residents about the business of medicine. In particular, certain contractual issues can adversely affect a young physician’s career mobility. Methods: We designed a business-of-medicine curriculum and used a survey to determine whether the curriculum satisfied attendees’ perceived knowledge gaps about…
Objectives: The study compared estimated creatinine clearance (eCrCl) between the Cockcroft-Gault (CG) equation and the Jelliffe, Chiou, and Brater equations designed for estimation in dynamic renal function and resulting antimicrobial dosing concordance of five antimicrobials (cefepime, meropenem, piperacillin/tazobactam, vancomycin, and fluconazole) commonly used in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods:…
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