Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
-
A recent Institute of Medicine report concluded that lesbian and gay individuals face discrimination from health care providers and called for research on provider attitudes. Medical school is a critical juncture for improving future providers' treatment of sexual minorities. This study examined both explicit bias and implicit bias against lesbian women and gay men among first-year medical students, focusing on two predictors of such bias, contact and empathy. ⋯ The prevalence of negative attitudes presents an important challenge for medical education, highlighting the need for more research on possible causes of bias. Findings on contact and empathy point to possible curriculum-based interventions aimed at ensuring high-quality care for sexual minorities.
-
Multicenter Study
The influence of academic discourses on medical students' identification with the discipline of family medicine.
To understand the influence of academic discourses about family medicine on medical students' professional identity construction during undergraduate training. ⋯ These results stress the influence of academic discourses on medical students' ability to identify with the practice of family medicine. Educators must consider processes of professional identity formation during undergraduate medical training as they develop and reform medical education.
-
The discipline of family medicine is essential to improving quality and reducing the cost of care in an effective health care system. Yet the slow growth of this field has not kept pace with national demand. In their study, Rodríguez and colleagues report on the influence of the social environment and academic discourses on medical students' identification with family medicine in four countries-the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Spain. ⋯ National education initiatives highlight the importance of social determinants in medical education and the integration of public health and medicine in practice. Other initiatives expose students to family medicine role models and practice during their undergraduate training and promote primary care practice through new graduate medical education funding models. Together, these initiatives can reduce the negative effects of the social environment and create a more positive discourse about family medicine.