Maxine A. Papadakis, MD, professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and associate dean of student affairs at UCSF School of Medicine, led the research team. Study findings are reported in the December 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers looked for early warning signs during medical school that were associated with a higher risk for disciplinary action when the students became practicing physicians.
Behavior for which physicians were disciplined included use of drugs or alcohol, unprofessional conduct, conviction for a crime, and negligence. Unprofessional behavior in medical school was the strongest risk factor for later disciplinary action by a state medical board. In contrast, more traditional measures of academic success, such as performance on the Medical College Admission Test and early medical school grades, were much weaker risk factors for later disciplinary action, according to the study.
Papadakis, who is also a staff physician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, cautioned that because the study is retrospective, it is not predictive of future behavior of current medical school students. "However, we have at least established a risk factor for disciplinary action against practicing physicians," she said.
This is the first national study that links performance in medical school with later disciplinary action, and therefore with a potential threat to patient safety, according to Papadakis. "These data support the growing movement to make the demonstration of professional behavior a requirement for graduation from medical school in the United States. It is one way that we can improve health care quality by focusing o
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Contact: Steve Tokar
steve.tokar@ncire.org
415-221-4810 x5202
University of California - San Francisco
21-Dec-2005