The new academic medical center
Article Abstract:
Courses are offered in many community hospitals with names such as 'Blended Families Workshop', 'Parenting the Toddler', and 'Going on a Barbecue Picnic'. Many of these deal with topics that are part of daily life, purporting to educate people about things they probably already know. While claims can be made that patients benefit from group support after loss and severe injury, it is not clear that all of life's events require a formalized, hospital-run group. Can hospital personnel really have mastered such problems as stress to the point where they can instruct others in its management? Does the world need community hospitals to teach it Advanced Yoga? Health workers who encourage preventive health practices are to be praised; but questions can be raised regarding the motives of community hospitals who assert expertise in a variety of arenas, from toddler care to mall walking, and receive a tuition fee for most classes. No system of accreditation exists for the people who provide such services, in contrast to the rigorous accreditation requirements for the medical staff. Nor have the products and services promoted by many of these hospitals undergone clinical trials or tests for effectiveness. It is feared that such extensions of the hospital's role occur because of financial pressure and the need to endear the facility to prospective patients. In addition, these offerings echo the idea that all things concerning health can be 'medicalized'. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1990
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Toward a more perfect world - eliminating sexual discrimination in academic medicine
Article Abstract:
Efforts to stop sexual discrimination in the field of medicine should begin with the leaders of the profession. They set the example and the stage for others' behavior, and their actions and policies should clearly send the message that sexual discrimination will not be tolerated. A recent survey on sexual harassment among medical residents found 73% of the women and 22% of the men had been sexually harassed. It also highlighted the fact, as did the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings, that women and men are affected differently by harassment and interpret harassment differently. Women were more likely than men to view sexual harassment as having negative effects and were more likely to be harassed by men who were their superiors, that is, men who could permanently influence their careers. Choosing leaders who manage through respect for others, fairness and justice can have a lasting impact on what direction the field of medicine takes.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1993
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