Family medicine
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Publications are important to the academic development of the field of family medicine. Not all manuscripts written by family physicians or family medicine faculty are published in family medicine journals. The purpose of this study was to determine where manuscripts generated by US family medicine department faculty are being published. ⋯ The number of publications generated by family medicine faculty has grown, as has the number (but not the percentage) of articles published in non-family medicine journals.
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This article examines the declining interest in family practice by US medical students and trends in specialty selection over the past decade. Four factors affecting specialty choice (medical student characteristics, medical school, residencies, and certain aspects of the health care system) are discussed, and a research agenda is developed for each area. Researchers and funding agencies are urged to begin an exploration of these issues to better understand the dynamics behind current specialty choices so that successful policies to increase the number of students entering family practice can be developed.
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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.