Medical Annotated Bibliography
1.�
Aristeiguieta, C. A.� (1998).� Substance abuse, mental
illness, and medical students: The role of the Americans
with Disabilities Act.� The Journal of the American
Medical Association, 279(1), 80.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Review.
PURPOSE:� To review the Americans with Disabilities
Act and how it impacts medical education for persons
with substance abuse and mental illness disabilities.
FINDINGS:�
The author states that although there is a slight increased
number of substance abuse and mental illness cases in
the medical profession than in others, physicians with
such disabilities are no more of a risk to the themselves
or the public than other physicians.� As a result, persons
with such disabilities should not be dissuaded from
pursuing a medical degree on the basis of their disability.�
It is illegal.� The legal admissions process is then
outlined by: how disability is defined, who qualifies,
and what schools must do to comply.
Key
words:� substance abuse, mental illness, disability,
medical education, ADA.
2.
Arkar, H. & Eker, D. (1997). Influence of
a 3-week psychiatric training programme (sic) on attitudes
toward mental illness in medical students. Journal of
Social Psychiatry Epidemology, 32, 171-176.
ABSTRACT:
This study was carried out to assess the influence of
psychiatric training, including direct patient contact,
on attitudes toward mental illness. An experimental
group consisting of medical students going through their
3-week training in psychiatry was compared with a control
group going through training in ophthalmology. The psychiatric
training involved direct patient contact and course
work. Attitudes toward three different vignettes were
assessed before and after training. Analyses showed
there were no significant changes in the attitudes of
the psychiatry group when compared to the ophthalmology
group. Inconsistent findings in the literature were
pointed out and a more analytical approach, focusing
on the specific features of exposure was suggested.
Key
words: attitudes toward mental illness, psychiatric
training.
3.
Arnold, L., Calkins, V.E. & Willoughby, T.L. (1994).
Medical Student’s Perceptions of Stress: Gender
and Ethnic Considerations. Academic Medicine, 69,10,
S22-S24.
ABSTRACT:
Stress has always been associated with medical school.
Since 1968, studies have been conducted regarding stress,
and recommendations were being made on how to best develop
positive coping skills for handling stress. Based on
knowledge from a number of studies reporting on the
level of stress that medical students experience, The
University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) developed
a unique six-year combined degree program with the intent
of alleviating some stressors medical students may endure.
A study from 1984 showed that stress at UMKC was, indeed,
less than that in traditional schools. However, since
the study in 1984, several changes have been made that
could increase the stress at UMKC. At the same time;
however, stronger support systems for the student body
were implemented. The objective of the current study
was to learn whether students’ perception of stress
in their environment had changed and whether these perceptions
were significantly different with regard to the gender
or ethnicity of the students. Also, the amount of time
students had been in the program and other demographic
variables were looked at.
The
study participants were all students in years two, four
and six of the combined degree program at UMKC. The
students completed a questionnaire on stress anonymously.
Stress was operationalized by students’ self-reports
of situations in their learning environment that they
deemed problematic and was measured by the Medical School
Environmental Stress Inventory using a Likert scale
from 1-7.
Recognizing
the changes in the school’s program, the authors
had hypothesized a greater increase in students’
stress levels. However, this was not the case. One can
deduce that the student support services implemented
by the University resulted in more positive coping skills
and effective stress management. When looking at comparisons
between gender, ethnicity, and time in program, no significant
findings existed. However, when looking at the stepwise
regression analysis, students who were self-reported
minority status (mostly Asian) and had a physician as
a parent were apparent. This would suggest that although
there was no significant finding in t-tests there is
a difference between this population and the other medical
students.
Key
words: stress, medical school.
4.
Ashton, C.H. & Kamali, F. (1995). Personality, lifestyles,
alcohol and drug consumption in a sample of British
medical students. Medical Education , 29, 187-192.
ABSTRACT:
Personality
characteristics and lifestyle variables were assessed
in two cohorts of second year medical students at the
University of Newcastle, Tyne, UK in 1993-94 and then
compared, where possible, with a similar survey previously
conducted in Newcastle upon Tyne medical students in
1983-84. For the current research, measures included
the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Hospital
Anxiety Depression Scale and the questionnaire concerning
consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other
illicit drugs, and physical exercise. When comparing
alcohol consumption, overall the 93-94 students showed
an increase in consumption. Reported use of cannabis
and other illicit drugs more than doubled. Anxiety levels
were not measured in the 83-84 study, but for the current
participants, anxiety levels measured within the clinically
significant range. These findings suggest a need for
a larger study across different universities and faculties
so that appropriate arrangements for student education
and health care can be made.
Key
words: lifestyle comparisons, medical students,
anxiety levels.
5.�
Association of Academic Physiatrists.� (1993).� Recommended
guidelines for admission of candidates with disabilities
to medical school.� American Journal of Physical
Medicine Rehabilitation, 72(1), 45-47.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� White paper.
PURPOSE:� To suggest ratifications, point-by-point,
to the Association of American Medical College�s (AAMC)
1991-1992 document on medical school admissions requirements.�
These suggestions eliminate the discriminatory message
conveyed to schools about applicants with disabilities.
FINDINGS:�
The Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP) was concerned
about the ability-focused essential functions outlined
by the college accrediting body, the AAMC.� In addition,
the AAP began to receive complaints from applicants
with disabilities to medical schools that were being
denied admission on the basis of their disability and/or
its impact.
The
guidelines outlined in this white paper are based on
the principles that: (1) having a disability does not
impact the quality of care a physician may provide in
the appropriate setting; (2) no one physician is clinically
appropriate in every setting; and (3) each school should
have explicit guidelines outlining the admission process
for all applicants.� From these principles, the AAP
has made specific recommendations that are meant to
minimize discrimination against persons with disabilities.�
These include: admitting qualified individuals regardless
of presence of a disability; all students are held to
the same academic standard; reasonable accommodations
are provided, the costs of which are assigned to the
school; and applicants who are denied admission have
the right to appeal.� Lastly, the AAP outlines the 5
necessary abilities and skills in detail that are required
for admission: observation; communication; motor; intellectual-conceptual,
integrative, and quantitative abilities; and behavioral
and social attributes.
The
overriding message of the AAP�s recommendations is to
instruct medical schools that they do not need to admit
every student with a disability.� Rather, they need
to provide an equal opportunity for admission to all
their applicants.
Key
words:� medical schools, disability, essential functions,
admissions.
6.
Bramness, J.G., Fixdal, T.C. & Vaglum, P. (1991).
Effect of medical school stress on the mental health
of medical students in early and late clinical curriculum.
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 84, 340-345.
ABSTRACT:
Earlier
research has shown that medical students in the United
Kingdom and the United States report a higher level
of nervous symptoms than the general population. To
better understand how medical students in Norway compare
with these findings, 299 male and female students in
the clinical curriculum at the University of Oslo were
asked to complete a questionnaire about themselves and
their mental health. Medical students in Norway do not
differ from the general population in mental health.
However, the students report a lower level of general
self-esteem than the general population. The male students
had more nervous symptoms and less general self-esteem
than the female students when compared to the general
population. This research also shows that medical school
stress is a good predictor of nervous symptoms even
when psychosocial variables such as marital or cohabitation
status, confident other and general self-esteem are
taken into consideration.
Key
words: nervousness, medical students.
7.�
Brown, M.� (1998).� A medical degree and nowhere to
go.� The Journal of the American Medical Association,
279(1), 82.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To describe the author�s personal experience
as a physician with a disability who is collecting unemployment
checks because of her inability to secure proper specialty
training with accommodations for her disability.
FINDINGS:�
The author highlights the attitudinal challenges
she faced from professors and students alike during
medical school as the foreground for why she believes
she was unable to attain specialty training.�
Key
words:� medical student with physical disability, physician,
physical disability, specialty training, strategy development,
attitudes, personal commentary.
8 . Brown, Peggy Ann. (2000, December).
Substantial Frustrations. The New Physician, 11-15.
ABSTRACT:
This
commentary outlines the struggle for those with Learning
Disabilities (LDs) to disclose their conditions and
receive the proper accommodations on certain tests required
before being accepted into medical school. Whether or
not to disclose that one experiences an LD can be a
hard decision to make because students often worry about
the stigma attached when one is identified as having
a learning disability. Furthermore, although medical
schools are expanding efforts to assist students with
LDs achieve their potential, the National Board of Medical
Examiners (NBME) still applies strict criterion for
determining who may qualify for testing accommodations
under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
NBME requires documented proof of a person’s LD,
and the student must satisfy the ADA’s definition
of being “substantially limited” in a major
life activity before one can receive testing accommodations
for the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE).
The latter may be especially difficult to prove as most
who experience an LD have what some call “gifts
of greatness,” helping them compensate for their
disabilities. Gifts of greatness range from an above
average IQ to strong verbal skills. Hence, something
that may substantially limit a medical student would
not necessarily substantially limit an average person
whose abilities fall below those of most medical students.
In other words, the ADA defines the term “substantially
limits” against the general public rather than
relatively. This article articulates that while some
institutions are working to make more comprehensive
and improved services available to those with LDs, some
students are still reluctant to reveal LDs. These students
worry that it may hinder their chances in medical school
in other ways. There needs to be a more broad based
effort by medical schools and institutions to recognize
and reasonably accommodate medical students with learning
disabilities.
Key
words: learning disabilities, medical school, National
Board of Medical Examiners, United States Medical Licensing
Exam.
9.�
Camp, D. L., Hollingsworth, M. A., Zaccaro, D. J., Cariaga-lo,
L. D., and Richards, B. F.� (1994).� Emotional impact
of medical school and residency: Does a problem-based
learning curriculum affect depression in medical students?�
Academic Medicine, 69(10), S25-S27.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Research.
PURPOSE:� To investigate and compare changes
in self-reported depression among medical students enrolled
in either a lecture-based learning (LBL) or problem-based
learning (PBL) curriculum at the same medical school.
FINDINGS:�
The researchers found that there was not a correlation
between depression and the two different types of curriculum.�
However, they did find that medical students have a
greater tendency to report symptoms of depression than
the general population; the reason for this phenomenon
is unknown.� In addition, women were more likely to
report depression than their male counterparts.� This
is different from prior research wherein no difference
had been found.
Key
words: medical students, depression, medical school,
medical education, curriculum.
10.�
Clark, D. C. & Zeldow, P. B.� (1988).� Vicissitudes
of depressed mood during four years of medical school.�
The Journal of the American Medical Association,
260(17), 2521-2528.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Research.
PURPOSE:� To quantifiably describe the vicissitudes
of depressed mood for one medical school class that
was assessed repeatedly over time from the first day
of medical school until several months short o graduation.
FINDINGS:�
This study found that 12% of the class experienced depressive
symptoms during their first three years; the largest
fraction of this percentage (25%) were symptomatic near
the end of their second year.� Also, it appears that
students remained symptomatic throughout their program.�
There were no significant differences between men and
women.
The
depressed mood was found to have no association between
substance abuse and depression severity; a positive
association between psychotherapy and depression severity,
and a negative relationship between academic performance
and depression severity.� However, there were no clear
distinctions made on if/when students became disabled
as a result of their depressed mood, nor was there a
discussion on disability related to mental illness.
Of
note, the authors postulate that although the prevalence
of clinical depression in this study ranged between
3 and 8 percent during the first three years of medical
school, it is not medical school or the professional
stressors that cause the depression.� Rather, the authors
believe that there are premorbid personality factors
that influence the student�s vulnerability to depression
and these factors may actually be solicited at some
level during medical school admission.
Key
words:� medical students with depression, medical students,
substance abuse, academic performance.
11. Cole, Theodore, Meier, Robert, & Strax, Thomas
(1993). Recommended Guidelines for Admission of Candidates
with Disabilities to Medical School. The American Journal
of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 22,1.
ABSTRACT: Dr. Robert Meier told the Association of Academic
Physiatrists that American medical schools were denying
applicants simply because they have physical disabilities.
A council was appointed to draft a white paper discussing
this issue and provide recommendations. The Board strongly
recommends that this paper be accepted not only by the
Association of American Medical Colleges, but also by
all American medical schools.
In 1991-92, the Association of American Medical Colleges
published a document on medical school admission requirements
for the United States and Canada. It states that candidates
for the MD degree must have somatic sensation, the use
of all senses, equilibrium, and motor function. The
panel for the Association of American Medical Colleges,
who seem to be the root of this document, suggest that
candidates for the MD degree should have the abilities
and skills in these areas: communication, motor, conceptual,
integrative, and quantitative, as well as behavior and
social. It recognized that technological compensation
could be made for handicaps in certain areas. Because
there are many practicing MDs who experience disabilities,
it has been proven that individuals with physical disabilities
are able to successfully practice medicine. This proclamation
is what has driven the Association of Academic Physiatrists
to create a more inclusive document outlining recommendations
for the acceptance of those with disabilities into medical
programs.
Key
words: medical school admission, persons with disabilities,
inclusion.
12.�
Conill, A.� (1998).� Living with disability: A proposal
for medical education.� The Journal of the American
Medical Association, 279(1), 83.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To describe the process and outcome
of a 48-hour pilot �sensitivity training� program for
14 medical students about living with a disability.�
The goal was to provide additional insight to physicians
providing care to people with disabilities.
FINDINGS:�
The author worked with the University of Pennsylvania
to provide a sensitivity training program on living
with disabilities.� Fourteen students were assigned
into pairs wherein one student was a person with a specific
disability (with equipment) and the other, the caregiver.�
Students had to maintain their roles for a period of
48hours.� At the conclusion of the exercise, students
in both roles were equally tired, sad, angry, and frustrated.�
As a result, the students realized that physicians working
with patients with disabilities need to not only understand
the disease process of their patient, but also their
experience of illness.� This acknowledgement, the author
claims, will lead to more collaborative and integrated
care for the patient, especially around issues of communication
and skills.
Key
words:� medical students, physical disability, sensitivity
training, attitude, communication.
13.�
Corbett, B.� (1991).� Physicians with disabilities.�
Western Journal of Medicine, 154, 514-521.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To document 18 physicians with disabilities
about their experiences with adaptations, discrimination
(childhood to current professional life), compensation
(i.e. what additional expenses they incur due to their
disability), patient acceptance, and about advice they
would give to medical schools and other medical students
with disabilities.
FINDINGS:� While this article details the 18
physicians� interviewed experience in each of the aforementioned
areas, the overriding message is that persons with disabilities
can be quality physicians.� The interviews also document
the continued existence of discrimination and poor attitudes
toward people with disabilities in general.� However,
in most of the interviewees� situations, once patients
and colleagues became better acquainted with the physician
with a disability, they were able to gain their respect;
they were not automatically given respect like many
of their colleagues without disabilities.
Key
words:� physicians with disabilities, medical students
with disabilities, attitudes, adaptations, accommodations,
patient acceptance, advice, admissions, essential functions,
medical schools.
14.
Corbett, B. (1991). Rehabilitation Medicine, Adding
Life to Years: Physicians with Disabilities. The Western
Journal of Medicine, 154, 5, 514-521.
Abstract:
There are no reliable data indicating the prevalence
of physicians with disabilities. An informal 1987 study
found that only 2.6% of all physicians, and only .25%
of currently enrolled medical students report having
disabilities, as opposed to 14.6% for the general population.
There are many reasons for this, some of which include
adaptations and discrimination from medical schools,
patients and the general population. For all people
with disabilities, discrimination is slowly subsiding
in the light of awareness generated by their greater
visibility in society. Physicians with disabilities
are no exception. Their mere presence enables others
with or without disabilities to become more aware of
the possibilities for people with disabilities. Today’s
physicians with disabilities are like pioneers. Medical
schools can now build on their successful experience
with students who have disabilities.
Key
words: physicians with disabilities, discrimination,
medical school, disabilities.
15.
Deary, I.J., (1994). Need medical education be stressful?
Medical Education, 28, 55-57.
Abstract:
There would appear to be some agreement to the effect
that medical education and, perhaps, medical careers,
are too stressful. The cause is usually traced to an
overloaded curriculum and/or an uncaring educational
environment. Rather, little has been said about the
range of individual responses to medical education:
those who thrive in the atmosphere of challenge, and
those who find they will only work in response to a
deadline or an impending examination, are not mentioned.
Not much has been said; either, about the inevitability,
or otherwise, of stress in professional training that
attempts to adequately to prepare young people to make
complex life-or-death decisions at speed in the face
of uncertain evidence.
Key
words: stress, medical school, medical careers.
16.
EL-Mallakh, R.S. (October, 1985). Survey of Handicapped
Physicians in Practice. Connecticut Medicine, 49, 10,
643-644.
ABSTRACT:
A
preliminary survey of practicing physicians in neurology,
pathology, and psychiatry was conducted. It was found
that 1.12% of all physicians in this sample experienced
a physical disability. The severity of these disabilities
ranged from blindness to impaired hearing. In this preliminary
survey, residents with disabilities appeared predominantly
in programs with faculty members who had disabilities,
indicating that role models may play an important role
for the young doctor with a disability.
17.
Essex – Sorlie, D. (1994) The Americans with Disabilities
Act: I. Implications and Suggestions for Compliance
for Medical Schools. Academic Medicine, 69, 7, 525-535.
ABSTRACT:
This
report presents a brief history and summary of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) including an extensive section
of definitions and explanations of key components outlining
their relevance to medical schools. While these definitions
are numerous and somewhat technical, an understanding
of them is essential for medical school faculty, staff,
and administrators to assess the ADA’s impact
on, and implications, for their institutions to assure
adequate and appropriate compliance. A companion article,
published in the same issue of Academic Medicine, focuses
on the implications of the ADA for colleges of medicine
and offers suggestions for compliance.
Key
words: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), medical
school, medical students with disabilities, implications
of ADA and medical schools.
18.
Essex – Sorlie, D. (1994) The Americans with Disabilities
Act: II. Implications and Suggestions for Compliance
for Medical Schools. Academic Medicine, 69, 7, 525-535.
Abstract:
There
is a need for more information about the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) that is tailored to colleges
of medicine so that faculty, staff, and administrators
can understand and carry out their responsibilities
under the Act. This report (part II) as well as part
I (in the same issue of Academic Medicine) address this
need. The present report focuses on the educational
relationship between medical schools, applicants, and
students in the context of the ADA. A comprehensive
array of implications for the ADA is discussed in question
and answer format. The report concludes with fifteen
recommended steps that colleges should take to comply
with the ADA. Medical educators must continue to adjust
their understanding and knowledge of the ADA’s
implications for medical schools, given that the interpretation
of the ADA will evolve as the courts amplify and implement
it.
Key
words: Americans with Disabilities (ADA), medical school,
medical students with disabilities.
19.
Faigel, H. (May, 1992). Services for Students with Learning
Disabilities in U.S. and Canadian Medical Schools. Academic
Medicine, 67, 5, 338-339.
ABSTRACT:
Between September 1, 1990, and March 31, 1992, 103 of
the 142 schools in the United States and Canada responded
to a questionnaire regarding their services and programs
for medical students with learning disabilities. Ninety-three
schools accepted such students (and ten did not), but
only two thirds had support programs, and half lacked
the capacity to diagnose learning disabilities. Twenty-five
did not know they could administer licensing examinations
in a nonstandard manner, and 19 had no senior administrator
or faculty member coordinating learning disability services.
The author concludes that these results suggest that
medical schools are poorly informed about, and unprepared
to help, students with learning disabilities.
Key
words: medical school accommodations, medical school
services, medical students with learning disabilities.
20.
Faigel, H. (December, 1998). Changes in Services for
Students with Learning Disabilities in U.S. and Canadian
Medical Schools 1991-1997. Academic Medicine, 71, 12,
1290-1291.
Abstract:
The purpose of this article was to determine the changes
between 1991 and 1997 in the admission policies of,
and services offered, by U.S. and Canadian medical schools
to students with disabilities. Between June 1 and August
31, 1997, the author surveyed 144 medical schools in
the United States and Canada regarding their services
and programs for medical students with learning disabilities.
The questionnaire was the same one as used in a 1991
study. The results showed that of the medical schools
contacted, 106 responded (one Canadian school sent a
letter but did not complete the questionnaire). Ninety-four
of 96 U.S. schools, and seven of the remaining nine
Canadian schools said that they accept students with
learning disabilities. All of the respondents that accept
such students claimed to make some academic accommodations
and indicated that they would administer non-standard
(un-timed) licensing examinations, and many reports
state their affiliated post-graduate medical training
program would also make appropriate accommodations for
students with learning disabilities. The author concludes
that when compared with the results from the 1991 survey,
the new data suggest that medical schools have improved
their services for students with learning disabilities
in response to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Key
words: medical school accommodations, medical students
with learning disabilities, medical school acceptance
of students with learning disabilities.
21.
Flaherty, J. & Richman, J. (March, 1993). Substance
use and Addiction Among Medical Students, Residents
and Physicians. Psychiatric Clinics of North America,
16, 1, 189-196.
ABSTRACT:
This literature review examines the existing data on
alcoholism, drug addiction, and substance usage among
physicians in the service of answering the salient questions
on this topic. First, what is the true prevalence of
substance abuse and alcohol problems among medical students,
physicians in training, and practicing physicians? Do
these prevalence rates change over the course of medical
school, residency, and entry into practice? Are these
rates greater or less than those for the general population
or specific control populations such as nurses or lawyers?
Second, what are the risk factors that determine which
physicians become substance abusers or alcoholics? What
is the relative role of family history compared with
other psychosocial factors such as personality, coping
style, and environmental stress? Do medical students
bring in to medical school a risk for alcoholism and
substance abuse based on their past socialization, genetic
endowment, and personality, and/or do they acquire an
at-risk status as a result of the incumbent demands
of their training? Are there gender differences in substance
abuse and alcohol problems among medical students and
physicians, and if so, are these different from their
age cohorts in the general population? Finally, what
is the prognosis for problems related to substance abuse
and alcohol in young physicians over the course of time,
and what are the effects of treatment on maintaining
abstinence rates?
Key
words: alcohol abuse, drug abuse, substance abuse, physicians,
residents, medical students.
22.�
George, S. C.� (****).� Ready and able: With federal
legislation ensuring a place for them in medical school,
many aspiring physicians are eager to prove that their
disabilities aren�t inabilities.� **The New Physician?****, ***, *****.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Review.
PURPOSE: To review the implications
of the ADA for medical schools by giving specific, actual
student scenarios.
FINDINGS:�
The ADA provides a legal �open-door� to students with
disabilities, unlike any prior legislation, without
compromising academic integrity.� However, there are
some organizations, such as the Association of American
Medical Colleges, which is responsible for school accreditations,
that remain in arguably discriminatory waters.� As a
result, some groups, such as the Association of American
Physiatrists and the American Medical Students Association,
are studying the implications of disability on medical
education and profession, and making recommendations.�
This discussion is substantiated by the inclusion of
interviews with medical students with disabilities ranging
from cerebral palsy to blindness in terms of their admissions
process and progress through their programs.
Key
words: medical students with physical disabilities,
medical education, ADA, disclosure, admissions, accommodations,
student scenarios.
23.
Gordon, L. (Spring, 1996). Mental health of medical
students: the culture of objectivity in medicine. The
Pharos, 2-10.
ABSTRACT:
The mental health of medical students is often over
looked. Studies of depression, suicide, and substance
abuse demonstrate that medical students constitute a
population at risk. An estimated 12% of medical students
suffer from major depression during the first two years
of medical school. The literature review in this article
provides a comprehensive analysis of medical students
and their likelihood to become substance abusers, depressed,
suicidal, etc. There are debates on the influence medical
school has on these dispositions and the effect of one’s
own personality traits going into medical school. The
author concludes that depression, suicide, and substance
abuse have been demonstrated to be significant problems
in the medical student population and may be under recognized
and under treated.
Key
words: mental health of medical students, depression,
substance abuse, suicide.
24.
Graham, J. & Ramirez, A.J. (1997). Mental Health
of Hospital Consultants. Journal of Psychosomatic Research,
43, 3, 227-231.
ABSTRACT:
This editorial articulates the risk of those in the
medical field to depression, burnout/emotional exhaustion,
and suicide. One statistic shows that psychiatric morbidity
among hospital consultants is 28% while that reported
among the general population is only 18%. The editorial
outlines a stress model of four stages: 1) environmental
demand, such as excess workload and lack of professional
support; 2) perceptions of demand and the inability
to cope; 3) maladaptive coping responses such as working
longer hours and drinking alcohol; and 4) poor mental
health. The author concludes that the continued exposure
of hospital consultants to a high risk of burnout and
psychiatric morbidity will not only involve the ongoing
personal suffering of doctors and their families, but
may also constitute a threat to the quality of patient
care they deliver. It may also increase the trend for
early retirement and the burden on colleagues remaining
behind.
Key
words: psychiatric morbidity, stress, mental health,
medical field.
25.
Guthrie, E., Black, D., Bagalkote, H., Shaw, C., Campbell,
M. & Creed, F. (1998). Psychological stress and
burnout in medical students: a five-year prospective
longitudinal study. Journal of the Royal Society of
Medicine, 91, 237-243.
ABSTRACT:
The aim of this study was to assess psychological morbidity
and symptoms of burnout in medical students during their
undergraduate training, and to identify baseline factors
that predict psychological morbidity in students in
the final year of the course. It was a 5-year prospective
longitudinal cohort study. Students were assessed in
years 1, 4 and 5 of their medical undergraduate training
by means of the GHQ-12 and the Maslach Burnout Inventory.
One hundred seventy two, 157, and 155 students out of
an original group of 204 completed assessments in years
1, 4 and 5, respectively. Eighteen students were above
threshold on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12)
on all three occasions, 25 on two occasions and 43 on
one occasion; 69 students were never a “case.”
Students who were cases on two or more occasions were
more likely to find the medical course stressful during
the first year, but not subsequent years. There was
no significant difference between the percentages of
men and women who scored as cases on the GHQ-12 in any
of the years. The best predictor of psychological morbidity
in the final year of the course was the GHQ-12 score
in year 1. This study suggests that a small group of
students repeatedly experience psychological distress
during their medical training.
Key
words: burnout, medical students, psychological morbidity,
assessment, GHQ-12
26.
Guthrie, E., Black, D., Shaw, C., Hamilton, J., Creed,
F. & Tomenson, B. (1995). Embarking upon a medical
career: psychological morbidity in first year medical
students. Medical Education, 29, 337-341.
Abstract:
This study was undertaken to measure the prevalence
of psychological morbidity, and the nature and source
of stress, in first year medical students. Two hundred
and four first year medical students at a university
in north England were sent a postal, self-report questionnaire.
They were asked to complete the General Health Questionnaire
(GHQ), the Stress Incident Report and to give details
of their alcohol consumption. A total of 172 students
replied. Thirty-six percent of the students scored above
the threshold of the GHQ, indicating probable psychological
disturbance. There was no difference between men and
women. Approximately half of the students described
a stressful incident, the majority of which were related
to medical training rather than to personal problems.
Male students reported drinking significantly more than
female students, but there was no relationship between
levels of alcohol consumption and either psychological
disturbance or reporting of stress.
The findings suggest that even at the preliminary stages
of medical training, many students find aspects of the
medical course very stressful. The psychological well
being of medical students needs to be more carefully
addressed, and closer attention needs to be paid to
the styles of medical teaching that may provoke avoidable
distress.
Key
words: stress, medical school, medical students.
27.�
Haas, R.� (1998).� Experiences with d/deaf culture.�
The Journal of the American Medical Association,
279(1), 82.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To describe the author�s personal experience
as a medical student with a hearing impairment learning
about the Deaf community and culture.
FINDINGS:�
The author describes the distinction between being deaf
and being part of the Deaf community.� For example,
many members of the Deaf community do not consider their
inability to hear to be pathological, which is contrary
to what some deaf people believe.� This insight would
be helpful for physicians working with deaf individuals.�
Therefore, the author encourages other physicians and
medical students to learn more about being deaf and
the Deaf community.
Key
words:� medical students with hearing impairment, deaf,
Deaf community, personal commentary.
28.�
Hartman, D. W. & Hartman, C. W.� (1981, February).�
Disabled students and medical school admissions.� Archives
in Physical Medicine Rehabilitation, 62, 90-91.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE: To discuss three questions asked by
medical school admissions committees regarding the acceptance
of disabled persons who enter into medical schools:
(1) Can a student with a disability be admitted to an
undifferentiated graduate program when they will not
be able to practice in any field of medicine after graduation?
(2) Are the costs of educating a person with a handicap
prohibitive? And (3) Will the admission of students
with disabilities result in the lowering of medical
school standards?
FINDINGS:�
The authors discuss each of the questions individually
and substantiate them with examples from one of the
author�s personal experiences as a medical student with
a visual impairment.� First, it is their contention
that (a) no physician is competent in all fields of
medicine due to personality traits, etc. and (b) due
to the multiple specialty electives offered during medical
school, schools are actually graduating students who
have a breadth of knowledge about medicine, but have
particular fields of strength.� Therefore, the belief
that the �undifferentiated graduate� is a goal of current
programs is not only a fallacy; it is not even done
today.
Second,
the authors believe that with creative, inexpensive
alternative methods of learning for students with disabilities,
no burdensome costs will be parlayed to the school.�
The student should purchase expensive adaptive equipment
that may be needed by the student clinically, as they
will probably use it throughout their career.� As a
result, the school is not burdened, and the student
will have the tools they need to succeed upon graduation.
Third,
the authors use examples of alternative methods of communication
(i.e. Braille) and teaching (i.e. describing orally
histology rather than providing microscopic examples)
to demonstrate that both are equally effective in teaching
the subject matter.� As a result, the material is the
same, and the quality of the program is not compromised.
The
discussion is concluded by drawing on some advantages
that students with disabilities bring to the profession,
because of their disability.� For example, students
with disabilities have a better understanding of chronic
problems and illness, which may help them relate better
to patients with chronic problems.�
Key
words:� medical students with disabilities, medical
schools, undifferentiated graduate, cost, program quality,
admissions.
29.
Helms, L. & Helms, C. (July, 1994). Medical Education
and Disability Discrimination: The Law and the Future
Implications. Academic Medicine, 69, 7, 535-543.
ABSTRACT:
Students
with disabilities who are preparing for careers in health
care have been in the forefront of those bringing suit
under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990
broadened discrimination statutes and renewed attention
to students with disabilities in medical education.
Based on an analysis of the medical statutes and case
law, the courts in conjunction with medical educators
may be expected to refine policies to identify 1) when
physicians with disabilities are otherwise qualified;
2) what the essential tasks performed by physicians
are; 3) what accommodations to disabled students are
reasonable; and 4) how communications about disabilities
among program administrators, faculty, and students
should be carried out. To ensure that physicians with
disabilities are welcome and productive members of the
profession, policy must expand from legal foundation
to proactive planning and evaluation to minimize the
risks of litigation and to enhance the environment of
medical education.
Key
words: physicians with disabilities, accommodations,
medical profession, Americans with Disabilities Act,
Rehabilitation Act.
30.
Hendrie, H., Clair, D., Briattain, H. & Fadul, P.
(1990). A Study of Anxiety/Depressive Symptoms of Medical
Students, House Staff, and Their Spouses/Partners. The
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 178, 3, 204-207.
ABSTRACT:
Symptoms
of anxiety/depression and suicidal ideation were studied
in medical students, house staff, and their spouses/partners
in a large Midwestern school by means of an anonymous
questionnaire. A total of 634 medical students and 227
house staff completed the questionnaire.
A
significantly higher proportion of female trainees than
male trainees reported symptoms of anxiety/depression
(41% compared with 27%). This difference between men
and women was most marked during residency training.
The proportion of men reporting anxiety/depressive symptoms
declined between medical school (33%) and residency
(10%). No such decline occurred with women (medical
students 42%, residents 37%).
Key
words: anxiety, depression, stress, medical school,
suicide medical students.
31.
Henning, K., Ey, S. & Shaw, D. (1998). Perfectionism,
the impostor phenomenon and psychological adjustment
in medical, dental, nursing, and pharmacy students.
Medical Education, 32, 456-464.
ABSTRACT:
Extensive attention has been paid over the past three
decades to the stressors involved in training in the
health professions. Although empirical studies have
identified demographic subgroups of students most likely
to become distressed during training less research has
been carried out to evaluate the impact of students’
personality characteristics on their adjustment. Sever
perfectionism is one such personality trait that has
been shown to increase the risk for anxiety and depressive
disorders in other populations. Another set of personality
traits linked to increased psychological problems has
been labeled the “imposter phenomenon,”
which occurs when high achieving individuals chronically
question their abilities, and fear that others will
discover them to be intellectual frauds. Both perfectionism
and the imposter phenomenon would seem to be pertinent
factors in the adjustment of health professional students;
however, these character traits have not been empirically
examined in this population. In the present study, psychological
distress, perfectionism, and impostor feelings were
assessed in 477 medical, dental, nursing, and pharmacy
students. Consistent with previous reports, the results
showed that a higher than expected percentage of students
(27.5%) were currently experiencing psychiatric levels
of distress. Strong associations were found between
current psychological distress, perfectionism, and imposter
feelings within each program, and these character traits
were stronger predictors of psychological adjustment
than most of the demographic variables associated previously
with distress in health professional students. Implications
for future research, limitations of this study, and
clinical recommendations are discussed.
Key words: psychological distress, stress, nursing,
dental, and medical students.
32.
Hinkley, R. (Janurary, 1998). Changes in Profiles of
Students Admitted to Florida Allopathic Medical Schools
(1990-1996). J. Florida M.A., 84, 9.
ABSTRACT:
The demographic and academic profiles of first-year
classes entering the three allopathic medical schools
in Florida between 1990 and 1996 have been summarized.
In general, the high academic standards for admission
(high GPAs and MCAT scores) have been maintained, and
in some cases, increased. The percentages of women admitted
to the first-year classes at UM and UF have increased
in recent years, and the number of women enrolled in
MD programs in Florida has increased by 26% since 1990.
At the University of Miami, the student body has reached
gender parity. There also has been a marked shift in
the ethnicity of medical students in the state of Florida.
Non-Hispanic white students have decreased by 9% to
64.4% of the total population. Black students and Hispanic
students have made modest gains, and now constitute
7.4% and 11.5% of the population, respectively. Asian
students have made the largest gain (6.4%), now making
up 15.8% of all Florida medical students. In contrast,
there has been no sustained increase in the overall
number of underrepresented minority students admitted
to first-year classes despite national programs and
institutional commitments to do so. These changes have
not just occurred in Florida medical schools. They parallel
far broader national trends resulting from a dramatic
increase in the number of medical school applicants,
and demographic changes in the applicant pool.
Key
words: medical school student demographics, gender,
ethnicity.
33.
Holt, G. & Bouras, N. (1988). Attitudes of Medical
Students to Mental Handicap. Medical Teacher, 10, 3
/ 4, 305-307.
ABSTRACT:
The
attitudes of medical students toward people with cognitive
disabilities were examined in two medical schools in
London. Medical students appear to be favorably disposed
to people with a cognitive disability, in spite of their
little contact with them. They are interested to learn
more, not only of clinical aspects, but also on the
wider issues of social origin.
Key
words: social attitudes, people with disabilities, handicap,
medical student attitudes.
34.
Hood, N. (March, 2000). Time Has Come Today. The New
Physician, 34-40.
ABSTRACT:
This article identifies three areas of medical education
that Hood believes are forgotten about and/or not paid
attention to. Hood identifies humanism, diversity and
activism as themes that should be specifically integrated
into medical education. One confound with the integration
of these themes is the lack of comprehensive knowledge
of what competencies should be taught and/or sought
in medical students. On another note, the United States
is regarded as having one of the best medical education
systems, and some of the best doctors, in the world.
This creates hesitancy about changing the current methodology.
However, Hood concludes that “medical educators,
students and the public need to appreciate aspects of
the status quo but must never tire of seizing opportunities
to initiate improvements.”
Key
words: humanism, activism, diversity, medical school,
medical students.
35.
Horrigan, B. (May, 1995). Christine Northrup, MD: Medical
Practices as a Spiritual Journey. Alternative Therapies,
1, 2, 64-71.
ABSTRACT:
This interview by Bonnie Horrigan with Christine Northrup
expounds upon Northrup’s journey as a medical
practitioner focusing on the way medicine deals with
people in general, and women in particular. Dr. Northrup
helped found Women to Women, an innovative healthcare
center for women in Yarmouth, Maine that blends allopathic
and alternative treatments. With the same goal in mind,
she wrote “Women’s Bodies, Women’s
Wisdom: Creating Emotional and Physical Health and Healing.”
She also edits Health Wisdom for Women, a newsletter
about women’s health. Dr. Northrup, who now lectures
across the nation, is widely acknowledged as a visionary
in women’s health. This interview took place at
her office in Yarmouth, Maine.
Key
words: healthcare, medicine, women in medicine, women’s
health.
36.
Jaschik, S. (January, 1995). Ruling Ordering Medical
School to Admit Blind Student is Reversed. The Chronicle
of Higher Education, 41, 18, A26-27.
ABSTRACT:
This article expounds on a case in which a woman was
refused admission to Case Western Reserve University
medical school because she is blind. A district court
in Ohio found that the university had violated an Ohio
anti-bias law by rejecting Cheryl Ann Fisher because
she was blind. The court of appeals reversed this decision.
The Jr. Vice President of the Association of American
Medical Colleges agrees with the appeals court decision
stating that medical school should be distinguished
from other institutions regarding accommodation of those
with disabilities because medical school leads to a
professional degree that involves the health and safety
of others, and is not purely to the personal benefit
of the person being educated. The appeals court felt
similarly asserting that Case Western’s decision
was legitimate because there was not way for Fisher
to meet the basic medical school requirements that require
vision. Fisher said she felt as though her rights as
a U.S. citizen had been taken away from her, that she
had lost her citizenship, and the rights she was born
with because she is blind.
Key
words: blind medical student, medical school accommodations,
legal.
37.
Josephson, F. (December, 1997). Accommodating Medical
Students with Learning Disabilities. Academic Medicine,
72, 12, 1032-1033.
ABSTRACT:
The author states that his desire with this commentary
is to heighten awareness and to adjust the attitudes
of premedical advisors and medical school faculty regarding
the potential of students with learning disabilities
for successful medical careers. One thing the author
offers as help with understanding learning disabilities,
is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Josephson
believes that the rights and protections that the ADA
provides can increase awareness of those with learning
disabilities and the ways they can be accommodated in
many institutions, including medical schools. The author
believes that one hindrance is that many people in the
general population are unaware of the potential that
one who experiences a learning disability has to contribute.
Josephson offers a personal experience to exemplify
this.
Key
words: learning disabilities, medical students, Americans
with Disabilities Act, medical school accommodations
for learning disabilities.
38.�
Kenney, A.� (1986, October 3).� MD specialists bring
unique insights into rehabilitation needs of disabled.�
American Medical News, 33.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To describe how the specialty of rehabilitation
assists people with disabilities.
FINDINGS:�
The author interviews two rehabilitation physicians,
both of whom have physical disabilities themselves,
about their entry to medicine and contributions to patients.�
Both physicians emphasize that rehabilitation medicine
focuses on helping people with disabilities (defined
as a �physical deficiency�) to not be handicapped (dependent,
etc.).
Key words:� physicians with disabilities, rehabilitation
medicine, rehabilitation, medical education, disability,
handicap.
39.
Kent, G. (June, 1991). Reactions of Medical Students
Affected by a Major Disaster. Academic Medicine, 66,
6, 368-370.
ABSTRACT:
This report describes the concerns and reactions of
medical students who were affected by a major disaster
at a football game in Sheffield in 1989. Some reactions
were related to their stage of training, especially
their feelings of guilt, doubts about their competence,
and concern that they would not be able to cope with
the stresses of doctoring. Relationships with fellow
students were also problematic. Four months after the
disaster, two students were still experiencing considerable
distress. Staff can ameliorate such effects by providing
formal teaching about posttraumatic stress disorder
and by being prepared to offer support.
Key
words: posttraumatic stress disorder, coping, stress,
medical school, medical student.
40.
Kent, G. & Kunkler, A. (1992). Medical student involvement
in a major disaster. Medical Education, 26, 87-91.
ABSTRACT:
Five to six months after the deaths of 95 football spectators
at Hillsborough football ground, senior clinical students
at Sheffield Medical School were surveyed in order to
assess their degree of involvement with the disaster.
Approximately one student in eight could be said to
have had a high level of involvement. Students with
high involvement showed higher levels of distress on
both the General Health Questionnaire and the Impact
of Events Scale. Only a small minority of students attended
psychological debriefing groups or counseling sessions,
perhaps due to the stigma attached to professional help
seeking. The results have implications for medical training
and provision of support within medical schools.
Key
words: distress, stress, coping, debriefing, medical
students, medical school.
41.
Kincaid, J. Aristeiguieta. (2000). Recent Legal Decisions.
Association on Higher Education and Disability, 29-48.
Retrieved January, 1st, 2000 from http://www.ahead.org.
ABSTRACT:
This document summarizes several different legal decisions
regarding cases involving persons with disabilities.
These summaries specifically reference cases that involve
medical students and the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA). For example, the first summary outlines a
student who was dismissed after failing a clerkship.
The student had requested an accommodation, which had
been previously granted for other clerkships, but was
denied. Thus, he failed the clerkship and was dismissed.
A lower court ruled in favor of the medical school,
but the decision was remanded for trial by a district
court. These summaries expound on the influence sections
of the ADA have on these cases, and how it was implemented
for certain judgments.
Key
words: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), legal
decisions, medical students, accommodations, medical
school.
42.
Kondo, D. & Judd, V. (September, 2000). Demographic
Characteristics of US Medical School Admission Committees.
Journal of American Medical Association, 284, 9, 1111-1113.
ABSTRACT:
This was the first study in 28 years to report a comprehensive
survey of the composition of admission committees in
U.S. medical schools. One focus of this study was the
underrepresented minority (URM) membership in medical
school admission committees. It was found that on average,
16% of committee members have URM status and that 87%
of schools have at least 1 member with URM status on
their committee. This shows an increase in URM membership.
Another trend outlined in this study was the increase
in the number of women represented on committees. In
1982, women comprised 23% of committees and 31% of medical
student freshman. Today, those percentages have grown
to 37% and 44%, respectively. Presently, a reversal
of historical gains in URM medical school matriculation
is taking place, and the barriers to the promotion of
diversity in medical education continue to grow. Investigators
have concluded that the composition of a medical school
class reflects the composition of the admission committee,
particularly in terms of selecting students with an
interest in primary care. Thus, one can deduce that
the recruitment of people with URM status to sit on
admission committees is a potential method of promoting
diversity in the physician workforce.
Key
words: diversity, underrepresented minorities (URM),
physician workforce, doctors, medical school admission
committees.
43.
Lin, J. (November, 1995). Assisting Troubled Medical
Students. Journal of American Medical Association, 274,
17, 1394-1397.
ABSTRACT:
This article articulates that counseling can facilitate
exploration of personal issues that have been exposed
during medical training, and it offers medical students
an opportunity to learn new coping skills and enhance
their understanding of themselves and their training
environment. On-site psychological services also provide
faculty and staff with a referral resource when they
encounter students who present with specific psychological
challenges and concerns. These services will assist
in the development of a training atmosphere, in which
students can learn that medical education involves their
whole person.
Key
words: counseling services, coping skills, medical students,
holistic training, medical school.
44.
Longmore, P (1995). Medical Decision Making and People
with Disabilities: A Clash of Cultures. Journal of Law,
Medicine & Ethics, 23, 82-87.
ABSTRACT:
This
paper addresses, in historical perspective, the ways
in which the status of persons with disabilities, as
a stigmatized minority group, affects medical decision-making.
It also examines the efforts of disability rights activists
to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities
in the current medical culture. Finally, it raises questions
about how the rights of people with disabilities will
fare as new care standards are developed and implemented.
Key
words: stigma, people with disabilities, medical community.
45.
Marcus, D. (2000). Issues of Trainees with Disabilities
in Medicine: Combating Stigma and Ignorance. A Perspective
for the New Millennium. Rochester, NY: Department of
Neurology.
ABSTRACT:
The main theme of this book is how medical students
are impacted by medical education, what types of doctors
medical students will become, and the way that medical
school affects physician’s relationships with
their communities, cultures, and identities. Marcus
highlights his personal experience with other medical
students who had disabilities. He noticed that all of
the students with disabilities in one of his courses
slowly disappeared. He started to realize “that
there was an inherent pressure to conform to the faculty’s
notion of what a physician in training should become.”
It is Marcus’ belief that medical education robs
individuals of their unique qualities, trying to create
a cookie cutter image of all physicians.
46.
Marsland, E.A. (April, 1981). Reflections of a Disabled
Professional. Physiotherapy, 67, 4, 97-100.
ABSTRACT:
This autobiographical story outlines the experience
of a dentist who acquired poliomyelitis in the 1940’s.
He describes his range of memories from waking up in
a Welsh hospital hearing of vague diagnosis and that
with 6 months of rehabilitation he would be able to
walk again, to finding out that he, in fact, had acquired
poliomyelitis and would never be able to walk again.
The author also describes his emotional challenges with
deciding to use crutches or a wheelchair, and how each
influenced the amount of independence he felt. His experience
may be familiar to other doctors who were suddenly unable
to practice their expertise due to the onset of a disability.
Key
words: disability onset, doctors with disabilities,
paralysis and physicians.
47.�
Martini, C. J. M.� (1987).� Physical disabilities and
the study and practice of medicine.� The Journal
of the American Medical Association, 257(21), 2956-2957.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Review.
PURPOSE:� To discuss the impact of a disability
on the study and practice of medicine.
FINDINGS:�
The author makes a clear distinction between the
study and practice of medicine in order to see how disability
impacts each individually.� First, the medical education�s
goal is to graduate an undifferentiated graduate.� This
demands that students are able to �(1) acquire knowledge
and understanding, (2) develop appropriate attitudes,
and of equal importance, (3) develop professional skills
necessary for the general practice of medicine� (p.
2956).� In order to attain these goals, certain physical
skills are necessary.� The authors believe that while
students with disabilities should be admitted to medical
programs, students should first self-select if a career
in medicine is an appropriate choice due to their disability
and ability to meet the aforementioned demands.� The
authors advocate that schools, in accordance with the
law, develop explicit guidelines for admissions based
on the technical standards of the program to convey
this message.
The
author states that disabilities that are incurred post-medical
school are �of course, an entirely different matter�
(p. 2957).� Physicians with physical disabilities may
offer unique insights to their colleagues and patients
about their particular disability.�
In
both instances, the author finds that people with disabilities
enrich the medical profession, but that there are certain
problems that arise when admitting these individuals
into current medical programs, which aim to create undifferentiated
graduates.
Key
words:� medical students with physical disabilities,
physicians with physical disabilities, medical schools,
admissions, technical standards, undifferentiated graduate,
attitudes.
48.
May, D. (1991). Teaching mental handicap to medical
students. Medical Teacher, 13, 3, 233-243.
ABSTRACT:
An
innovative approach to the teaching on mental handicap
to pre-clinical medical students as part of their Behavioral
Sciences course is first described. The teaching is
organized around a number of extended placements, which
allow students to interact with people with a cognitive
disability on a basis of equality and reciprocity. Students
respond positively to the seminar, regarding it as enjoyable,
interesting and relevant to their future work as doctors.
Questionnaires administered to students participating
in the seminar suggest that they have a generally positive
image of people with cognitive disabilities and hold
vaguely liberal views as to how they should be treated
by society. Few; however, wish to work with people with
cognitive disabilities. There is no evidence that the
experience of the seminar leads to any significant change
in these attitudes.
Key
words: physician’s attitudes, mental illness,
medical student perspectives, teaching, medical course.
49.
Michie, S. & Sandhu, S. (1994). Stress management
for clinical medical students. Medical Education, 28,
528-233.
ABSTRACT:
This study evaluates a new stress management course
for medical students offered through the Occupational
Health Unit, Royal Free Hospital, London. It was offered
to students in their first clinical year, which has
been shown to be a highly stressful time. The course
took place over three weeks, with one 2-hour session
each week. Students completed questionnaires about mood,
attitudes, and causes of stress at the beginning of
the year and again one year later. The uptake of this
optional course was 17%. Attendees, compared with non-attendees,
were more anxious, less satisfied with themselves and
their life, and perceived both work and outside functioning
to be poorer. Over this first clinical year, non-attendees
became significantly more dissatisfied at work and increasingly
perceived their functioning at work and outside to be
poorer whilst attendees showed no such deterioration
over the year. Attendees completed the questionnaires
before and after the course, and at two time points
prior to starting the course when on the waiting list.
Improvements in reported work functioning were found
after the course. This change was significant compared
with the waiting list controls. These results are consistent
with the attendees’ own reports that they found
the course helpful. These results show that stress management
provides long-term protective effects as well as short-term
benefits.
Key
words: stress, stress management, medical school, medical
students, medical course.
50.
Miles, S. (September, 1998). A Challenge to Licensing
Boards: The Stigma of Mental Illness. Journal of American
Medical Association, 280, 10, 865.
ABSTRACT:
This article outlines the experience of a doctor diagnosed
with Type II bipolar disorder. On a routine re-licensing
questionnaire, he felt obligated to disclose his diagnosis,
as well as the name of his psychiatrist providing treatment.
The Board of Medical Practice subsequently asked for
all of the notes and records from his psychiatrist.
Neither Miles, nor his psychiatrist, felt that this
was legitimate or necessary. The commotion cause by
this case has inhibited other physicians to disclose
similar diagnoses. Miles states that a more open environment
where physicians are able to disclose such circumstances
can benefit all.
Key
words: mental health disorders, depression, medical
doctors, physicians.
51.
Moore-West, M. & Heath, D. (1982). The Physically
Handicapped Student In Medical School: A Preliminary
Study. Journal of Medical Educators, 57, 918-921.
ABSTRACT:
The research reported here was undertaken as a preliminary
study of the students with physical disabilities in
undergraduate medical education because of the lack
of information about students with physical disabilities
in schools of medicine, or in medicine itself. A questionnaire
was mailed to all medical schools in the United States.
Results show very few problems with either the students’
academic performance or the institutions’ adaptation.
Furthermore, when a school accepts one student with
a physical disability, there appears to be a tendency
for the school to accept more.
Key
words: medical students, physical disabilities, handicapped
students, medical education.
52.
Mygdal, W., Marcone, M., Hitchcock, M., Featherston,
W. & Conard, S. (May-June, 1991). Outcomes of the
First Family Practice Chief Resident Leadership Conference.
Family Medicine, 23, 308-310.
ABSTRACT:
In June of 1989, the first Family Practice Chief Resident
Leadership Conference was presented to 27 Texas second-year
residents who had been selected to serve as chief residents
during their third year. The objectives of the conference
were to assist these emerging leaders to develop better
stress management and leadership skills and to strengthen
their ties with the Texas Academy of Family Physicians.
The conference featured two major workshops on stress
management and leadership skills, and included plenary
speeches and large and small group discussions. This
article reports the outcomes of the conference as measured
by the evaluation instrument completed by participants.
Analysis of the results indicated that the conference
had a positive effect on the residents.
Key
words: stress management, Family Practice Chief Resident
Leadership Conference, leadership skills.
53.
Noles, P. (2000). Blind medical student faces skeptics,
critics. Some question whether a doctor can function
without site. LA Times, *****, ****.
ABSTRACT:
This LA Times article outlines the experience of a medical
student who is blind at Western University of Health
Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. Although Jeff
Lawler is an outstanding student with a grade point
average of 3.8, there is debate about his ability to
complete medical school and become an Osteopathic physician.
Critics have many concerns including questioning his
ability to evaluate a skin rash, read an EKG, or diagnose
a patient if he’s not able to see the patient’s
facial expression. University officials have responded
by educating the public of Lawler’s attendance
and referencing other examples of physicians who are
blind. Comments from Lawler and his wife are included.
Key
words: blind, medical student, physician, medical school.
54.
Novak, D., Epstein, R. & Paulson, R. (May, 1999).
Toward Creating Physician-Healers: Fostering Medical
Students’ Self-awareness, Personal Growth, and
Well-being. Academic Medicine, 74, 5, 516-520.
ABSTRACT:
To restore the “humanism” in medical care,
medical education needs to espouse the goal of creating
physician-healers. Critical, and often neglected, factors
in healing are the personal development and well being
of the healer. Unexamined attitudes, biases, and personal
stress can interfere with patient care. Personal awareness
and well being can contribute to physicians’ using
their emotional reactions to patients for their patient’s
benefit. The authors suggest goals and objectives for
medical education that can promote trainees’ self-awareness,
personal growth, and well being, and comment on how
medical educators might achieve and evaluate these goals.
Key
words: humanism, medical care, physician personal stress,
patient care, medical education.
55.
Nsiah-Kumi, P. (2002). Maximizing your Success in Medical
Education Tips for Premedical Students with Chronic
Illnesses and Disabilities. American Medical Student
Association. Retrieved September 4th, 2003 at http://www.amsa.org/adv/cod/disabpre.cfm.
ABSTRACT:
Individuals in medicine who have chronic illness or
disabilities face a number of challenges. Among them
are the frequent inflexibility of the system; inaccessibility/unavailability
of necessary resources, support services and personnel;
ignorance on the part of peers, faculty and administrators;
confidentiality issues; a lack of role models/mentors;
and prejudice and discrimination. All of these are in
addition to the actual challenges posed by the chronic
condition the student experiences and the challenges
posed by medical school. The purpose of this chapter
is to discuss possible challenges that a student with
chronic illness or disability may face in medical school
and how to overcome them.
Key
words: chronic illness, medical students, coping strategies,
stress, challenges.
56.
Parkerson, G., Broadhead, W. and Kit, C., (1990). The
Health Status and Life Satisfaction of First-Year Medical
Students. Academic Medicine, 65, 586-588.
ABSTRACT:
The self-reported health status and life satisfaction
of 286 first-year Duke University medical students,
in four consecutive classes, were measured at the beginning
and end of the school year and compared statistically
with relevant sociodemographic and behavioral factors.
Health status, quantitated in terms of Duke Health Profile
score, was generally lower for women than for men. Although
there was a definite trend of worsening along all parameters
of health and satisfaction during the year for both
men and women, the most marked change was the increase
in depressive symptoms. The students who were very satisfied
with life had fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety;
higher self-esteem, better physical, mental, and social
health; stronger social ties; more physical activity;
more sleep; and fewer stressful life events. Strong
social ties was the factor most positively related to
better health and life satisfaction.
Key
words: stress, depression, medical school, medical students.
57.
Powers, J. & Healy, A. (1982). Inservice Training
for Physicians Serving Handicapped Children. Exceptional
Children, 48, 4, 332-336.
ABSTRACT::
A nationwide project to provide continuing medical education
to primary care physicians who provide office-based
health care to children with disabilities is described.
Included are issues involving the physician’s
role in relation to the child’s family, school,
and community. Interim evaluation results point to participant’s
acknowledgement of a need for and willingness to provide
a broader range of medical and traditionally nonmedical
services.
Key
words: handicapped children, continuing education, physician
education, physicians’ roles.
58.
Rathbun, J. (1995). Helping Medical Students Develop
Lifelong Strategies to Cope with Stress. Academic Medicine,
70, 11, 955-956.
ABSTRACT:
The ways in which medical students choose to cope with
the stressors of their training act as blueprints for
how they will deal with future professional and personal
stresses. Medical students are not being provided the
services they need to develop highly resistant coping
strategies that they can carry on into their professional
lives. In this essay the author reviews the problem
and outlines some suggestions of primary and secondary
prevention. His primary prevention service includes
ideas such as psycho-educational lectures or workshops
that would be part of the first-year curriculum. Secondary
services might include assessments, crisis intervention,
and short-term counseling. Finally, consultative services
designed to help the institution find ways to reduce
the incidence of stress and related problems. Stress
is a central component of a physician’s job, and
patterns of coping take hold during medical training.
These are significant reasons for providing medical
students a comprehensive mental health program that
includes a spectrum of services incorporating primary
and secondary prevention.
59.
Reichgott, M. (1996). “Without Handicap”:
Issues of Medical Schools and Physically Disabled Students.
Academic Medicine, 71, 724-729.
ABSTRACT:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), of 1990,
requires that access to education not be denied simply
on the basis of disability. The law requires definition
of “basic qualifications” required of all
applicants, “essential elements” of the
curriculum, and whether accommodation would alter the
“fundamental nature” of the learning experience
or impose “undue burden.” Medical schools
have a very low proportion of students with physical
disabilities, which the author argues is largely a result
of schools’ conception of the “undifferentiated
graduate” as being capable of performing the history,
physical examination, and any medical procedure without
an intermediary. But the author maintains that medical
students need not be unblemished physically; medical
educators’ obligation is the educate those students
who are qualified to become physicians by virtue of
intelligence, professional attitude, and ability to
effectively interact and communicate. With respect to
clinical training, it is important to consider whether
persona and hands-on experience is required for adequate
learning to occur. The requirement for hands-on capability
becomes less compelling because most physicians limit
the scopes of their practices and do not perform all
procedures, those physicians who develop physical disabilities
are not precluded from continuing in some forms of medical
practice, and because technologic advances allow for
the substitution of imaging and diagnostic testing for
the more conventional approach to the physical examination,
the requirement for hands-on capability becomes less
compelling. Yet not every applicant with a physical
disability should be admitted to medical school, and
those admitted require coaching, guidance, and career
advice in order to succeed with their physical limitations.
The author suggests that one of the seminal concepts
of medical education, “without handicap,”
should be seen not as referring to the pre-existing
physical status of students but instead as the obligation
of educators to provide all their students with the
broadest possible learning experiences, so that they
will be without the handicap of inadequate education
when they proceed to their chosen fields.
Key
words: medical students, physical disabilities, reasonable
accommodation, medical school, students with disabilities,
Americans with Disabilities Act.
60.�
Reichgott, M. J.� (1998).� The disabled student as undifferentiated
graduate: A medical school challenge.� The Journal
of the American Medical Association, 279(1), 79.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To challenge the current Association
of American Medical Colleges� (AAMC) essential functions
for medical education in lieu of professional assistants
and technological advances, and to reframe and restate
them to eliminate discrimination of persons with disabilities.
FINDINGS:�
The author challenges the AAMC�s views on essential
functions and the use of assistance and assistive devices.�
First, he describes what the AAMC�s views as essential
functions for medical students and how they are used
to create an undifferentiated graduate (one that can
enter into any one of the fields of medical practice
without handicap).� Ironically, no one physician is
truly undifferentiated-- proficient and appropriate
in all fields of medicine.� Therefore, the author states
that it is unrealistic for medical students, including
those with disabilities, to meet this goal.
Second,
the author criticizes the AAMC�s denouncement of assistance
and assistive devices used by medical students and physicians
with disabilities.� These technological advancements
assist medical students with disabilities to work as
competently as those without disabilities.� They do
not compromise their care, but enhance abilities.
The
result of these two points is the author�s recommendation
that essential functions not be ability based, but be
focused on knowledge, communication skills, interpretation
of data, and critical thinking.� Such restated functions
would be inclusive of persons with all abilities.
Key words: medical students, medical education,
essential functions, undifferentiated graduate, assistance,
assistive devices, ADA.
61.
Reidar, T., Vaglum, P., Aasland, O., Gronvold, N. and
Ekeberg, O. (1998). Use of alcohol to cope with tension,
and its relation to gender, years in medical school
and hazardous drinking: a study of two nation-wide Norwegian
samples of medical students. Addiction, 93, 9, 1341-1349.
ABSTRACT:
The aim of this study was to look at the association
between the use of alcohol to cope with tension and
hazardous drinking, and the prevalence and the predictors
of such drinking behaviors. Findings showed that the
use of alcohol to cope was reported by 10.5% of the
students with no significant gender difference. Hazardous
drinking (binge drinking at least 2-3 times per month)
was reported by 14% of all the students, 24% men and
6% women. There was a strong association between the
use of alcohol to cope with tension and hazardous drinking,
when controlling for other possible predictors. Use
of alcohol to cope was also associated with increasing
age, mental distress and lack of religious activity.
Then senior students used alcohol as a way of coping
less often, but not hazardous drinking. Male gender,
religious inactivity, high self-esteem and having no
children were predictors of hazardous drinking. This
suggests that the use of alcohol to cope with tension
is an independent risk factor connected with hazardous
drinking among medical students, with no difference
in prevalence between the genders.
Key
words: stress, medical school, alcohol use, coping,
gender.
62.
Richman, J. & Flaherty, J. (1990). Alcohol-Related
Problems of Future Physicians Prior to Medical Training.
Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 51, 4, 296-300.
ABSTRACT:
Time 1 data are presented from an ongoing longitudinal
study of drinking patterns and problems of future physicians
from medical school entrance through 2.5 years of training.
The data in this report address the prevalence and psychosocial
correlates of alcohol-related problems experienced prior
to medical school training. A group of 167 students
(91% of the cohort) was surveyed. Self-report questionnaires
included: alcohol-related problems (the MAST), earlier
parent-child relationships, personality characteristics
(external locus of control, self-esteem, dependency,
masculinity-femininity), life events, social supports,
motivations for drinking, and symptomatic distress.
The male students manifested a higher mean level of
alcohol problems, and the sexes differed at the trend
level when the MAST was scored to distinguish “problem”
from “non-problem” drinkers (with 18.4%
of the students reporting five or more problem points
and 7.4% reporting four problem points). The significant
correlates of alcohol problems included: perceived lack
of earlier maternal affectivity (for men) and perceived
lack of earlier paternal affectivity (for women), and
lack of emotional support (for men). Moreover, escape
motives for men were the motives most highly correlated
with alcohol problems. Symptomatic distress (anxiety
and hostility) was significantly correlated with alcohol-related
problems in men but not women. Future reports will depict
the psychosocial experiences and alcohol-related problems
manifested by this cohort during medical training.
Key
words: drinking, alcohol abuse, medical students, men
and women.
63.�
Rodolfa, E., Chavoor, S., & Velasquez, J.� (1995).�
Counseling services at the University of California,
Davis:� Helping medical students cope.� The Journal
of the American Medical Association, 274(17), 1396-1397.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To describe the authors� experiences
counseling medical students attending the University
of California, Davis.
FINDINGS:�
The authors� describe their strategies to aid medical
students cope by academic year.� These strategies include
the teaching that much of what they are evolving through
is a developmental phase mixed with a very stressful,
new environment.� Included in this environment are challenges
to medical students of ethnic minorities and those that
have organizational issues; each of which is discussed
in detail.
Of
particular note, the authors have extrapolated some
of the implicit rules of the medical school world from
their discussions with students, which add additional
stress to students of minority groups.� �These rules
include the belief that: (a) medicine should be the
highest priority of one�s life, (b) emotional detachment
equals objectivity and facilitates the provision of
quality medical care, while emotional involvement inhibits
clinical judgment, (c) competition produces excellence,
while cooperation indulges intellectual mediocrity,
and (d) tradition establishes the standards of excellence�
(p. 1397).
Key words:� medical students, coping, counseling,
minority challenges, rules.
64.� Sacks, O.� (1992).� A neurologist�s
notebook: A surgeon�s life.� The New Yorker, *(**), 85-94.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE: Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To describe the author�s observations
and interview with a surgeon who has Tourette�s syndrome
about his personal and professional life experiences
(including education).
FINDINGS:�
The author provides a historical reference of the syndrome
from �moral� to today�s concept of biopsychosocial disease.�
Using this later concept as the foundation for his interview
and observations, the author documents the surgeon�s
life in biological, psychological, and social arenas.�
In terms of education, the surgeon stated that his most
difficult challenge was reading, because of his obsessive
need to repeat words and phrases.� There is no mention
of how he created a coping strategy.� However, the surgeon
does describe the attitudinal challenges he endured
by professional colleagues and communities. It was through
time that these issues dissuaded and the surgeon was
able to build a successful practice.
The
author, also, provides vivid descriptions of a couple
patient-surgeon interactions, including a couple surgical
procedures.� In each, the surgeon�s coping skills are
illuminated (i.e. establishing a set pattern of rhythmic
steps in each procedure).
Key
words:� physician, surgery, Tourette�s syndrome, attitude.
65.
Samkoff, J. (July, 1993). Understanding the Impaired
Medical Student. Pennsylvania Medicine, 34-37.
ABSTRACT:
Medical students encounter some of the stressors of
their chosen profession even before receiving their
medical degree, and unfortunately they sometimes turn
to alcohol and drugs as an escape. This article outlines
the stressors of medical school and their impact on
students, and offers resources to avoid becoming a victim
of impairment.
Key
words: medical students, stress, medical school, coping
with stressors, alcohol and drugs.
66.
Seyden, N. (1999). Enhancing Medical Students’
Knowledge About Those who Live with Disabilities. Rehabinfo
Network, Retrieved December, 07, 2000 from http://www.rehabinfo.net/default.asp.
ABSTRACT:
Both the research literature and our surveys among individuals
with disabilities point to two key gaps in the medical
care of individuals with severe disabilities. The first
gap centers on physicians who withhold medical and rehabilitative
services because of personal biases or misinformation.
The second gap arises from health care providers who
lack awareness of underlying causes that have persistent
influence on the health and well being of individuals
with severe disabilities. In both cases, the end result
is that people with disabilities, particularly those
with severe disabilities, often do not receive adequate
care or important information to make informed decisions
to guide their care and live independently. Physician
and rehabilitation counselors often work from their
own biases about people’s lives when living with
disabilities. It is the author’s opinion that
physicians and rehabilitation counselors need to be
trained to listen to their patients more, as studies
have shown that many of those who live with a disability
are content and report a high satisfaction with their
lives.
Key
words: rehabilitation counseling, physicians, people
with disabilities, independence, informed decisions.
67.
Silver, L., Nadelson, C., Joseph, E., Covi, L., Jones,
D., & Ruff, G. (1979). Mental Health of Medical
School Applicants: The Role of the Admissions Committee.
Journal of Medical Education, 54, 534-538.
ABSTRACT:
This study examined the role of admissions committees
as it relates to the mental health of applicants. Two-part
questionnaires were sent to 115 medical schools. The
first part explored to composition of the committee.
In most schools, the dean selected the members attempting
to obtain equal representation from clinical and basic
science departments. Most of the schools had one or
more psychiatrists on the committee. The second part
focused on the policy for applicants with former mental
health problems. Over one-third of the committees asked
about previous or present mental illness or therapy.
Ninety percent of the schools had no policy or guidelines
for using such information; instead, most relied on
psychiatric interview or outside reports in making admissions
decisions. The impact of federal legislation regarding
people with disabilities on the admissions procedures
is discussed. Since more students with previous or current
psychiatric problems may be admitted, schools much be
prepared to respond to their needs as fully as they
now respond to other medical problems.
Key
words: mental health, representation, admissions, medical
school.
68.
Smith, H. (1998). Disability Leaders Student to Medical
School. Center for Disability Issues and the Health
Professions, Retreieved December, 7, 2000 from http://www.westernu.edu/xp/edu/cdihp/links_educating_professionals.xml.
ABSTRACT:
This article describes the experiences of a medical
student who is blind. Jeff Lawler lost his site due
to a degenerative disease. He started college and entered
medical school having received A’s in most of
his undergraduate work and competitive scores on the
Medical College Aptitude Test (MCAT). However, despite
his well documented aptitude, Lawler has faced opposition
towards his medical student standing because of his
disability. This article outlines opinions of those
who support Lawler as well as those who question his
ability to become a physician.
Key
words: blindness, medical student, Americans with Disabilities
Act.
69.
Steinberg, A., Iezzoni, L., Conill, A. & Stineman,
M. (December, 2002). Reasonable Accommodations for Medical
Faculty with Disabilities. Journal of American Medical
Association, 288, 24, 3147-3154.
ABSTRACT:
An unknown number of medical school faculty have disabilities,
and their experiences have generally escaped notice
and scrutiny. Although most medical schools offer long-term
insurance and extended leaves of absence for disability,
relatively few have policies explicitly addressing accommodations
for faculty with disabilities as they perform teaching,
research, and clinical duties. Accommodating active
medical school faculty with disabilities, drawing on
the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine initiatives
exploring the concerns of faculty with sensory and physical
disabilities, are discussed. Anecdotal reports suggest
that many faculty, fearing reprisals, resist seeking
job accommodations such as those mandated in the 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Although some
faculty with disabilities have found supportive academic
mentors, others report that lax institutional enforcement
of ADA requirements, including physical access problems,
demonstrates a tepid commitment to staff with disabilities.
Potentially useful job accommodations include adjusting
timelines for promotion decisions; reassessing promotions
requirements that inherently require extensive travel;
improving physical access to teaching, research, and
clinical sites; and modifying clinical and teaching
schedules. Faculty with disabilities bring identical
intellectual and collegial benefits to medical schools
as their nondisabled counterparts. In addition, they
may offer special insights into how chronic illness
and impairments affect daily life.
Key
words: medical school faculty, disabilities, accommodations,
Americans with Disabilities Act.
70.
Stewart, S., Betson, C., Marshall, I., Wong, C., Lee,
P. & Lam, T. (1995). Stress and vulnerability in
medical students. Medical Education, 29, 119-127.
ABSTRACT:
One
hundred and forty Hong Kong Chinese students were surveyed
early in the second year of their medical education
(year 2), and compared with 138 students surveyed prior
to beginning their first year of medical school and
with 74 non-medical university students in their second
year. In year 2 students, distress as reflected in their
scores on anxiety and depression self-report scales
was high, and these students reported greater utilization
of health professional services as compared with the
other two groups. In year 2, students’ concerns
related to the medical school environment and curriculum,
and whether one has the endurance and ability to be
successful, were significant correlates with depression
and anxiety. Loss of opportunity to maintain social
and recreational sources of gratification correlated
with anxiety. There was no difference between the sexes
with regard to the development of anxiety and depression
symptoms. Academically less successful students reported
somewhat higher levels of depressive ideation and symptomatology.
Trait anxiety correlated with the development of distress,
while optimism protected against the development of
distress. Active coping styles and positive reinterpretation
as a coping strategy correlated negatively with distress,
while wishful thinking correlated positively with distress.
These findings emphasize the need for greater attention
to the psychological well being of doctors-in-training,
in Hong Kong as in the Western world. These findings
should be further explored in longitudinal studies,
and may be helpful in designing intervention and support
programs for vulnerable students.
Key
words: stress, depression, anxiety, coping, medical
students, Hong Kong.
71.�
Takakuwa, K. M.� (1998).� Coping with a learning disability
in medical school.� The Journal of the American Medical
Association, 279(1), 81.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To describe the author�s personal experience
of having a learning disability and pursuing medical
school.
FINDINGS:�
The author describes his experience with a learning
disability from the point at which he was diagnosed
(post-baccalaureate) to his current practice.� The emphasis
of the article is on the frustration a person with a
learning disability experiences when they are clinically
competent, but academically compromised due to their
disability.
Key
words:� medical student with learning disability, physician,
learning disability, educational testing, personal commentary.
72.
Thomas, C. (1976). What Becomes of Medical Students:
The Dark Side. The Johns Hopkins Medical Journal, 138,
5, 185-195.
ABSTRACT:
In the cohort of 1337 former Johns Hopkins medical students
from the classes of 1948 through 1964, there were 1248
graduates and 89 nongraduates. In follow-up studies
of this cohort, 49 subjects, 3.1% of the graduates and
11.2% of the nongraduates, have been found to have died
prematurely. Incipient mental illness and emotional
disturbance appear to have contributed substantially
to academic failure, poor performance during and after
medical school, and premature death. These findings
underscore the need for learning to identify and help
medical students who are especially vulnerable to stress.
Such insights would contribute to the prevention of
premature disease and death, not only from mental illness
but also from other disorders.
Key
words: mental health, stress, coping, identification
of stress, medical students, premature death.
73.
Towes, J., Lockyer, J., Dobson, D. & Brownell, K.
(October, 1993). Stress among Residents, Medical Students,
and Graduate Science (MSc/PhD) Students. Academic Medicine,
68, 10, 546-548.
ABSTRACT:
The last two decades have seen an increase in literature
about stress during medical training. Academic stressors,
due to the volume of material to be learned, academic
performance anxiety, and evaluation through examinations
and preceptor ratings, have been cited in the literature.
Stressors arising from clinical work, difficult clinical
placements (such as intensive care units and emergency
rooms), and difficult patients are unique to health
care education. This paper reports the results of a
study of stressors and stress responses among residents,
medical students, and graduate science students at the
University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine. This study
was undertaken to demonstrate levels of stress among
the various groups of trainees to identify the need
for a specific trainee stress program. The purposes
of this study were to 1) assess the levels of stress
among medical students, residents, and graduate science
students in the Faculty, 2) determine the types of stressors
that the trainees were experiencing, and 3) compare
stress levels and stressors (a) among medical students,
MS/PhD students, and residents, (b) between men and
women trainees, and (c) between trainees at different
levels of training.
Key
words: medical students, stress levels, medical school,
academic stress.
74. Uva, J. (February, 1996). Assisting Medical Students
with Undiagnosed ADHD. Journal of American Medical Association,
275, 5, 417.
ABSTRACT: This letter to the editor outlines the author�s appreciation on the November
1st, 1995 issue highlighting the counseling services
available to medical students who experience mental
health difficulties during their medical training. The
author also articulates that studies of intervention
strategies for adequate treatment of medical students
with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
are essential. Furthermore, she expounds on the idea
that research is also needed on how to train professionals
and clinicians to work effectively with such students.
Key words: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), medical students,
mental health, medical staff.
75.
Verville, R. (1990). The Americans with Disabilities
Act: An Analysis. Archives of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation, 71, 1010-1013.
ABSTRACT:
This piece outlines the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), summarizes the main articles of the ADA with
definitions, and includes a brief history of the origination
of the ADA. The author concludes that the ADA vastly
enlarges the rights of people with disabilities to be
free from discrimination in employment and in the use
of nearly every facility and services common to life
in the U.S. These rights will create many new opportunities
for people with disabilities to be productive and to
achieve independence. In this respect, the ADA has dramatically
enhanced the effectiveness of the rehabilitation process
by creating real opportunities for social and economic
independence for individuals whose physical capacities
have been restored through medical rehabilitation. However,
states Verville, the extent to which new opportunities
will be developed will depend on the advocacy efforts
of people with disabilities and of the professionals
who work with them to educate the public and private
sectors to the new responsibilities they have under
the ADA.
Key
words: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), discrimination,
reasonable accommodations.
76.
Vitaliano, P., Maiuro, R., Russo, J. & Mitchell,
E. Medical Student Distress. A Longitudinal Study. The
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 177, 2, 70-76.
ABSTRACT:
This longitudinal study investigated the relative importance
of correlates of psychological distress in first year
medical students (N=312) in September and May. Anxiety
levels were one Standard Deviation above the mean when
compared with non-patient levels in both September and
May, and the percentage of students reporting depression
doubled over the study period. Problem-focused coping
decreased, emotion-focused coping increased, and satisfaction
with social supports decreased over the year. In contrast,
type A behavior and anger expression were more stable.
Students distressed in September were at higher risk
for distress in May, and were characterized by higher
scores for suppressed anger and type A behavior in May,
even after controlling for distress in September.
Key words: psychological distress, medical students,
coping.
77.
Wainapel, S. (1987). Physical disability among physicians:
an analysis of 259 cases. International Disabilities
Studies, 9, 138-140.
ABSTRACT:
This article presents data on 259 physicians and medical
students with a wide range of physical disabilities
and specialty training. Three out of four were in active
medical practice, most often in the specialties of internal
medicine, family practice, or psychiatry. Neurological
disorders accounted for over half the sample, with spinal
cord injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and post-polio
weakness being the most commonly encountered diagnoses.
These data indicate that physicians with physical disabilities
are more numerous than the previous literature would
suggest, and they are capable of practicing in many
professional specialties.
Key
words: disability, impairment, handicap, physician.
78.
Wainapel, S. (1987). The Physically Disabled Physician.
Journal of American Medical Association, 257, 21, 2935-2938.
ABSTRACT:
This article reviews the available literature on physicians
with physical disabilities and discusses the attitudinal,
environmental, and political barriers they may encounter.
Information on 215 physicians and 92 medical students
with a wide range of disabilities was analyzed. Currently
available personal and technological resources are outlined
and special issues pertaining to medical education are
highlighted. Greater awareness and acceptance by medical
peers are essential for professional success.
Key
words: disability, handicap, impairment, physician.
79.
Webster, G. (1980). Blind Internist Passes Board Exam.
The New England Journal of Medicine, 302, 1152.
ABSTRACT:
This brief letter to the editor comments on the first
blind internist to attempt, and pass, the American Board
of Medical Examiners certification. The author discusses
the physician and his experience, hoping to encourage
others who may experience a similar disability.
Key
words: blind, American Board of Medical Examiners, physician.
80.
West, M., Kregel, J., Getzel, E., Zhu, M. & Maritn,
E. Beyond Section 504: Satisfaction and Empowerment
of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education. Exceptional
Children, 59, 5, 456-467.
ABSTRACT:
College and university students with disabilities were
surveyed to determine their levels of satisfaction with
accessibility, special services, and accommodations
at their schools. In addition, students were requested
to identify barriers to postsecondary education, improvements
in services, and other concerns. Respondents generally
expressed satisfaction with the services that they had
received. However, the majority indicated that they
had encountered barriers to their education, including
a lack of understanding and cooperation from administrators,
faculty, staff, and other students; lack of adaptive
aids and other resources; and inaccessibility of buildings
and grounds. Recommendations were made for improving
the delivery of services and self-advocacy of students
with disabilities.
Key
words: students, disability, impairment, handicap, accessibility,
accommodation.
81.
Western University (1998). A Brief History of Blind
Physicians. Center for Disability Issues and the health
references. Retrieved December, 7, 2000, from http://www.westernu.edu.
ABSTRACT:
The story of healers overcoming visual impairments to
render care to others is an old one. In fact, physicians
who are blind have distinguished themselves in the practice
of medicine for more than a thousand years. This document
is a collection of brief biographies, based upon the
research of Virginia T. Keeney, MD, of Louisville, KY.
They outline the accomplishments of notable figures
who, despite their disabilities, contributed significantly
to their patients or their profession.
Key
words: disability, physician, blind, professional.
82.
Winkler, T. (1985). Handicapped in medical school: A
personal account. *******, 137, 8, 26-29.
ABSTRACT:
This narrative conveys the physical and emotional impact
that Terry Winkler experienced from a bullet wound to
his spinal cord, leaving him with paraplegia. He speaks
of his emotional state, his societal experiences, and
his work to function with some normalcy after such an
accident. Winkler links his experiences with societal
views of people with disabilities to their views of
physicians, and the dissonance created when a physician
has a disability.
Key
words: disability, spinal cord injury, physician.
83.
Wolf, T., (1994). Stress, coping and health: enhancing
well-being during medical school. Medical Education,
28, 8-17.
ABSTRACT:
Medical education can be a health hazard for many students,
and far-reaching reforms are needed to improve it. This
article reviews the literature on stress, coping, and
health during undergraduate medical education. The conclusions
drawn from this review are used as a basis for advancing
recommendations to improve medical education. It is
essential to incorporate the principles of health promotion
and disease prevention throughout medical education
in order to minimize and prevent later burnout and impairment.
Healthy medical students are likely to become healthy
doctors who can then model and promote healthy lifestyles
with their patients. This preventive approach to health
care can lead to an improvement in our health care delivery
system.
Key
words: stress, coping, medical school.
84.
Wu, S. Tsang, P., & Wainapel, S. (1996). Physical
Disability Among American Medical Students. American
Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 75,
3, 183-187.
ABSTRACT:
This survey aimed to assess the prevalence and nature
of physical disabilities among medical school graduates,
and to investigate the academic performance of these
new physicians with disabilities. A questionnaire was
sent to the deans of student affairs of each of the
then existing 128 United States and Puerto Rican medical
schools, addressing the profiles of students with physical
disabilities in the 1987 through 1990 graduating classes.
Seventy-seven (60%) United States and Puerto Rican medical
schools responded to the questionnaire, of which 67
were able to complete it. A total of 67 students with
physical disabilities (40 males and 27 females) were
reported. Three of the 67 students were excluded from
the study because their conditions did not match the
definition of physical disability. The remaining 64
students (38 males and 26 females), ranging from 0-10
per school, comprised 0.19% of the 138 students who
graduated from the 67 medical schools during these 4
academic years. The disabilities represented by the
64 students encompassed a wide spectrum of etiologies,
including neurologic (39%), musculoskeletal (20%), medical-surgical
(13%), visual (13%), and auditory (9%). The majority
of students with disabilities might be higher than reported
because of the underreporting of the less noticeable
types of disabilities.
Key words: disability, impairment, medical student,
physician.
85.�
Yom, S. S.� (1998).� Disabilities: Looking back and
looking ahead.� The Journal of the American Medical
Association, 279(1), 78.
TYPE
OF ARTICLE:� Commentary.
PURPOSE:� To describe the spectrum of discussion
on disability in this issue of JAMA.
FINDINGS:�
In this editor�s note, the editor states that medical
education and the profession alike are being impacted
by the ADA.� More people with disabilities are becoming
medical professionals.� As a result, the question is
being raised whether competence can be evaluated by
the presence of specific abilities rather than the absence
of all disabilities.� Each of these aspects is described
in greater detail in specific articles.
Key
words:� medicine, medical school, disabilities, abilities,
competencies.
86.
Young, M. (1987). Disabled is Not Impaired. Journal
of the American Medical Association, 258, 9, 1173-1174.
ABSTRACT:
This brief letter to the editor appreciates a report
that appeared in an earlier issue of JAMA, about physicians
with disabilities. However, the author explains his
disappointment on the location of the article relative
to reports of impaired physicians, and expounds on the
differences between physicians with disabilities and
impaired physicians with specific distinctions.
Key
words: disabled, impaired, physician.
87.
Zirkel, P. (2000). Sorting Out Which Students Have Learning
Disabilities. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 12,
8.
ABSTRACT:
This narrative delineates the experiences and thoughts
of a college professor regarding learning disabilities,
and how they are diagnosed. Zirkel acknowledges that
in recent years, college attendance of those with learning
disabilities has increased. However, these students
are all predominantly from affluent backgrounds and
are Caucasians. Zirkel ponders this and offers some
of his ideas as to why this may be the case. Some of
his ideas include the vagueness of the Americans with
Disabilities Act definition of learning impaired or
learning disabled; other ambiguities in the law about
learning disabilities, as well as the difficulty in
diagnosing one without support from lawyers, psychologists
or other doctors, all of which require financial stability.
Key
words: learning disability, diagnosis, accommodations,
laws.
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