"This research is an excellent example of how medical boards and medical schools can collaborate to improve patient care by quantifying available data, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of patient care and patient safety," said James N. Thompson, MD, president and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).
The study included 235 graduates since 1970 of three medical schools UCSF School of Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia who were disciplined by one of 40 state medical boards between 1990 and 2003. They were matched with 469 control physicians according to medical school and graduation year.
"We looked at these three schools because they're geographically diverse, represent both public and private institutions, and have very thorough records of their own students," said Papadakis.
The study looked at a broad range of unprofessional behaviors in medical students. The strongest association with disciplinary action was seen in students who were irresponsible in attendance or patient care. These students were nearly nine times more likely than their colleagues to be disciplined when they became practicing physicians.
"Professionalism can and must be taught in medical school," note the study authors. As part of this, the study recommends that medical school admissions and graduation standards should be reviewed to make sure they contain explicit language about professional behavior and that professionalism should be an important part of the curriculum. It also recommends that standardized methods should be implemented for both assessing the personal qualities of medical school applicants and predicting their performance.
"Most physicians take great pride in their professionalism and this is a quality that must be
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Contact: Steve Tokar
steve.tokar@ncire.org
415-221-4810 x5202
University of California - San Francisco
21-Dec-2005