Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · May 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyHealthy Steps trial: pedometer-based advice and physical activity for low-active older adults.
We compared the effectiveness of 2 physical activity prescriptions delivered in primary care--the standard time-based Green Prescription and a pedometer step-based Green Prescription--on physical activity, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and quality of life in low-active older adults. ⋯ Pedometer use resulted in a greater increase in leisure walking without any impact on overall activity level. All participants increased physical activity, and on average, their blood pressure decreased over 12 months, although the clinical relevance is unknown.
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Many family physicians have written about how they influence, nurture, and empower people in their communities of practice. In this essay, the author writes of the personal joys that family medicine has brought him. An expression of his appreciation for his work as a family doctor, it touches on 6 themes that continue to rejuvenate his practice: love, faith, mystery, place, dance, and medicine. By examining the emotional and psychological dimensions of these themes, he offers a path by which other family physicians may be able to find sustenance and joy in their daily work.
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Annals of family medicine · Mar 2012
How the medical culture contributes to coworker-perpetrated harassment and abuse of family physicians.
Harassment and abuse in the workplace of family physicians has been associated with higher levels of stress, increased consumption of alcohol, and higher risk for developing mental health problems. Few studies have examined issues contributing to abusive encounters in the workplace of family physicians. ⋯ Many family physicians experience harassing and abusive encounters during their training or in the workplace. The current medical culture appears to contribute to harassment and abuse in the workplace of family physicians in Canada. We described the components that intentionally or unintentionally facilitate abusive behavior in the medical culture.