Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
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To determine whether vicarious empathy (i.e., to have a visceral empathic response, versus role-playing empathy) decreases, and whether students choosing specialties with greater patient contact maintain vicarious empathy better than do students choosing specialties with less patient contact. ⋯ The findings suggest that undergraduate medical education may be a major determinant differentially affecting the vicarious empathy of students on the basis of gender and/or specialty choice. The greatest impact occurred in men who chose noncore specialties. The significant decrease in vicarious empathy is of concern, because empathy is crucial for a successful physician-patient relationship.
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To measure trainees' attitudes and experiences regarding medical error and error disclosure. ⋯ Although many trainees had disclosed errors to patients, only a minority had been formally prepared to do so. Formal disclosure curricula, coupled with supervised practice, are necessary to prepare trainees to independently disclose errors to patients by the end of their training.
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Literature reviews indicate that the proportion of clinical educational time devoted to bedside teaching ranges from 8% to 19%. Previous studies regarding this paucity have not adequately examined the perspectives of learners. The authors explored learners' attitudes toward bedside teaching, perceptions of barriers, and strategies to increase its frequency and effectiveness, as well as whether learners' stages of training influenced their perspectives. ⋯ Bedside teaching is valuable but underutilized. Including the patient, collaborating with learners, faculty development, and promoting a supportive institutional culture can redress several barriers to bedside teaching.
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In pediatric teaching hospitals, medical decisions are traditionally made by the attending and resident physicians during rounds that do not include parents. This structure limits the ability of the medical team to provide "family-centered care" and the attending physician to model communication skills. The authors thus set out to identify how parents responded to participation in interdisciplinary teaching rounds conducted in a large tertiary care children's teaching hospital. ⋯ Including parents on ward rounds at a teaching hospital was viewed positively by parents. Specific themes of particular importance to parents were identified. Further study is needed to assess the impact of inclusion of parents on rounds on patient outcomes and the resident experience.