The Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association
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J Okla State Med Assoc · Apr 2001
The OU College of Medicine responds to the demand for educating medical professionals in palliative care.
This past decade the medical community saw an increase of national interest in the training and educating of physicians to provide quality end-of-life care for patients. This article describes the efforts of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine to respond to the demand for educating medical professionals in end-of-life care. A Palliative Care Program was created to develop and implement new courses, seminars, and lectures for medical students, residents, and practicing physicians. Palliative medicine is in the process of being integrated into the OU academic medical environment so that all trainees, regardless of their educational level, have the opportunity for didactic and clinical exposure to end-of-life care.
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Almost every physician, regardless of specialty, will confront a dying patient. Yet, surprisingly, little formal attention is given to training physicians to care for the terminally ill. The aging of the population, with the numerous chronic debilitating and malignant conditions associated with growing older, has focused attention on palliative care. ⋯ The role of the physician is central in providing this care. The physician must provide care in an honest and compassionate manner, with attention to the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of the patient and the caregivers. This article focuses on the philosophy of palliative care including the concepts of hospice programs, the role of the physician in providing this care, Medicare hospice benefit, and barriers to effective end-of-life care.
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Quinine is universally used for the very common symptom of night leg cramps. Patients may not mention it among their medicines, since it is so commonly used and they regulate it themselves. A 68-year-old man suddenly developed extensive bleeding due to severe thrombocytopenia. ⋯ Only after three subsequent episodes of severe, symptomatic thrombocytopenia over the next four weeks did he say, upon repeat questioning, that he had continued to take quinine for night leg cramps. Even after a strict warning, he took another quinine tablet that evening, which triggered his fifth episode of severe thrombocytopenia, and confirmed the etiology of quinine-induced thrombocytopenia. The diagnosis thrombocytopenia caused by common drugs can be difficult, requiring persistent, explicit questions.
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J Okla State Med Assoc · Oct 2000
Historical ArticleCaring for Oklahoma's children: the Department of Pediatrics and Children's Hospital of Oklahoma.
The University of Oklahoma Department of Pediatrics was founded in 1930. Its history has mirrored the cyclic history of the state's economic development. ⋯ The Department is currently in a stage of growth based on support from the College of Medicine and the community. Because the histories of the Department and the Children's Hospital of Oklahoma are intertwined, this article gives an overview of each.