Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education
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This study examines the long-term impact of a medical-school death education course on death-related anxiety and attitudes. ⋯ Preclinical education has an enduring effect on attitudes involving end-of-life care.
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Grief is a normal and highly personal reaction to loss. Bereavement care (individual and/or group) can assist family members and friends in coping with their feelings of grief, thereby reducing the possibility of complicated grief reactions. The families and significant others of patients who have died in settings other than a hospice do not automatically have the opportunity for bereavement follow-up. ⋯ Group members found the group experience beneficial, especially regarding the opportunity to talk with others who had experienced similar losses, learning about the reactions one would expect in the grieving process, and developing new strategies to deal with the grief associated with the loss.
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Skillful questioning can be very effective in enhancing the cognitive abilities of medical students, residents, fellows, and students from the various health professions. Teachers should be able to use one of the taxonomies of thinking skills described in the literature in order to pose a variety of questions corresponding to various levels of cognition. Bloom's taxonomy is very useful in this regard. ⋯ Teachers should be able to construct questions that require different levels of thinking and use them during interactive discussions. The process of effective questioning includes establishing an appropriate environment, creating a climate conducive to learning, using an appropriate mix of questions, phrasing questions accurately, interposing sufficient wait time, and using various probes in response to the answers given by students. Teachers should be trained to enhance their own questioning skills through workshops, peer observation and critique, videotaping and feedback, and use of self-study modules.
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Multicenter Study
Cancer-risk-related health behaviors and attitudes of older workers. Working Well Research Group.
The National Cancer Institute's Working Well Trial was a randomized controlled trial of a two-year, comprehensive, worksite-based cancer control intervention. ⋯ Age may be an useful variable in targeting worksite cancer control programming. Workers in their 50s could be supported in weight management, since rates of overweight and obesity are higher in this group. Other health behaviors might be addressed for older workers.
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A clinical hospice/palliative medicine rotation for physicians enrolled in a three-year hematology/oncology fellowship was established in academic year 1993-1994 as a way to accomplish important training goals in pain management and the palliative care of patients with terminal illness. This study was conducted to obtain initial information about its effectiveness. Ten fellows, one at a time, evaluated new hospice/palliative medicine consultations, supervised the care of patients on an inpatient hospice/palliative care unit, and visited patients at home. ⋯ In nine evaluations, the fellows reported their understanding of hospice/palliative care as a program and approach to patient care was much improved; in two, improved; and in two, unchanged. All of the fellows would recommend this rotation to other fellows. A clinical rotation in palliative medicine and hospice care is a useful addition to the curriculum of fellows training in hematology-oncology.