Family medicine
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A life drawing technique was used to educate third-year medical students in a diagnostic and therapeutic approach to young children. Students were asked to produce their own early family life drawings. ⋯ Six of these student drawings were chosen to illustrate this goal. A few students even found that their drawings helped them resolve personal early life stresses.
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A key part of the doctor-patient encounter is the giving of a name to the patient's illness by the physician. Personal, professional, societal, and bureaucratic factors influence physicians in their choice of a name and the manner in which they present these words to the patient. ⋯ Citing examples from medical practice from its origins in ancient Greece to the present day, this paper draws attention to the crucial significance of medical language in doctor-patient communication. A heightened awareness by physicians of communication style is suggested, both in encounters with patients and in the training of medical students and residents.
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This review of the literature on social support and its relationship to maternal health indicates that emotional, tangible, and informational support are positively related to mothers' mental and physical health around the time of childbirth. The importance of various types of support changes with the changing needs of women as they move from pregnancy to labor and delivery, and then to the postpartum period. During pregnancy, emotional and tangible support provided by the spouse and others is related to the expectant mother's mental well-being. ⋯ Mothers who have the support of a companion during labor and delivery experience fewer childbirth complications and less postpartum depression. Mothers' postpartum mental health is related to both the emotional support and practical help (eg, housework and child care activities) provided by the husband and others. Health care providers are in a unique position to educate prospective parents about the importance of social support around the time of childbirth and may play a critical role in mobilizing support systems for new mothers.
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Recent proposals to reform the health care financing system have sparked discussions concerning the need to ration health care. Relative to other western industrialized democracies, the US rations primary and preventive care more, tertiary care less, and makes greater use of price rationing and bureaucratic controls. ⋯ Major reform of health care financing could change what is rationed, how it is rationed, and who is most affected. However, some rationing will remain necessary under any conceivable financing system.
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This report presents a description of a summer research assistantship program for first- and second-year medical students. The program's goals are to develop and enhance students' research capabilities and to familiarize students with clinical research in family practice. ⋯ A pre- and post-program questionnaire and test documented significant improvements in students' perceived knowledge of research methodology. This structured summer research program is an effective way to introduce and emphasize essential research skills.