Journal of general internal medicine
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Comparative Study
Racial similarities in response to standardized offer of influenza vaccination. A MetroNet study.
Despite known benefits of influenza vaccination and coverage by Medicare Part B, elderly minority patients are less likely to receive influenza vaccination than whites. ⋯ Vaccination acceptance differed little between African-American and white elderly patients. Using nonphysician personnel to identify and offer influenza vaccine to eligible patients is easily accomplished in primary care offices and has the potential to eliminate racial disparities in influenza vaccination.
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Although the benefits of prostate cancer screening are uncertain and guidelines recommend that physicians share the screening decision with their patients, most U.S. men over age 50 are routinely screened, often without counseling. ⋯ Based on its internal consistency and its correlations with measures of physicians' net beliefs and self-reported practices, the knowledge scale developed in this study holds promise for measuring the effects of professional education on prostate cancer screening. The scale deserves further evaluation in broader populations.
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Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) improve cardiovascular outcomes in high-risk individuals with diabetes. Despite the marked benefit, it is unknown what percentage of patients with diabetes would benefit from and what percentage actually receive this preventive therapy. ⋯ ACE/ARB is indicated in virtually all older individuals with diabetes; yet, national rates of use are disturbingly low and key risk factors (albuminuria and cardiovascular disease) are being missed. To improve quality of diabetes care nationally, use of ACE/ARB therapy by ALL older diabetics may be a desirable addition to diabetes performance measurement sets.
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Mentoring during the early stages of a career has been associated with high career satisfaction and may guide development of professional expertise. Little is known about mentoring experiences during residency training. Our purpose was to describe mentoring relationships among internal medicine residents, and to examine the relationship between mentoring and perceived career preparation. ⋯ Our findings demonstrate the importance of mentoring to medical residents, and identify a relationship between mentoring and perceived career preparation. We also identify a relative lack of mentoring among interns and underrepresented minority residents.
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Although many patient safety organizations and hospital leaders wish to involve patients in error prevention, it is unknown whether patients will take the recommended actions or whether error prevention involvement affects hospitalization satisfaction. ⋯ While patients were generally comfortable with error prevention, their participation varied by specific action. Since patients who were very comfortable were most likely to take action, educational interventions to increase comfort with error prevention may be necessary to help patients become more engaged.