Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
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The prohibition against age-based mandatory retirement, codified in amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1986, remains a concern in the academic medical community. A seven-year exemption covering tenured faculty expires at the end of 1993. ⋯ Although the major studies concerning the probable course of events after the seven-year exemption expires indicate that there will not be a cataclysmic effect on institutions of higher education, it is still not certain how tenured faculty will behave and how that will affect medical schools. The author cautions that the management acumen of institutional leaders will be taxed, and that medical school deans should realize this and begin the transition into the new era by improving systems for faculty evaluation and development, clarifying the financial guarantees of tenure, implementing space utilization reviews, and developing programs to make retirement attractive.
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The authors reviewed 136 cases of malpractice litigation involving residents or programs of graduate medical education that were reported from 1950 through 1989. Before 1970 malpractice constituted the only area of reported litigation for residents. The number of malpractice cases involving residents increased substantially after 1975, paralleling the growth of malpractice cases nationally. ⋯ Questions related to judicial procedure, immunity from liability, breach or causation, and informed consent were also litigated. Residents were on the side of the prevailing party in 44% of the cases. Malpractice continues to be the key legal issue facing programs of residency training.