Journal of general internal medicine
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To ascertain the views of physicians and physician leaders toward the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. ⋯ Members of the AMA House of Delegates strongly oppose physician-assisted suicide, but rank-and-file physicians show no consensus either for or against its legalization. Although the debate is sometimes adversarial, most physicians in the United States are uncertain or endorse moderate views on assisted suicide.
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Oral presentation skills are central to physician-physician communication; however, little is known about how these skills are learned. Rhetoric is a social science which studies communication in terms of context and explores the action of language on knowledge, attitudes, and values. It has not previously been applied to medical discourse. We used rhetorical principles to qualitatively study how students learn oral presentation skills and what professional values are communicated in this process. ⋯ Students learn oral presentation by trial and error rather than through teaching of an explicit rhetorical model. This may delay development of effective communication skills and result in acquisition of unintended professional values. Teaching and learning of oral presentation skills may be improved by emphasizing that context determines content and by making explicit the tacit rules of presentation.
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To assess the influence of race and gender influence on the use of invasive procedures in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in community hospitals. ⋯ Our study shows that white women are less likely than white men to be offered bypass surgery after AMI. Although black men and women with AMI are less likely than white men to be offered percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty or coronary artery bypass grafting in both unadjusted and adjusted analyses, these findings did not reach statistical significance. Our study is limited in power due to the small number of blacks in the sample.
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Lower extremity mobility difficulties often result from common medical conditions and can disrupt both physical and emotional well-being. ⋯ Reports of mobility difficulties are common, including among middle-aged adults. Associations with poor performance of daily activities, depression, anxiety, and poverty highlight the need for comprehensive care for persons with mobility problems.