Volume 1
Becoming a Physician: Notes to the Class-First Day – An NEJM Original Article
Becoming a Physician: Notes to the Class-First Day Perspective Article by K. Treadway, NEJM, May 12 2005, Vol 352(19) What does it mean to be compassionate as a doctor? Certain studies demonstrate that among medical students, the “commitment to the well being of others either withers or turns into something barely recognizable” by the end [...]
Assessment and Treatment of the Overweight Child and Adolescent – An NEJM Original Article
Clinical Practice by W.H. Dietz and T.N. Robinson, NEJM, May 19 2005, Vol 352(20)
How are physicians advising parents and children on the health risks of being overweight? Does today’s medicine offer effective ways of managing weight? Drs. Dietz and Robinson begin with an individual case, describe the clinical problem, and offer their recommendations on how to work with parents and children.
A 17-Year-Old Girl With Respiratory Distress and Hemiparesis After Surviving A Tsunami – An NEJM Original Article
Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital by A. Kao et al., NEJM, June 23 2005, Vol 352(25)
In this case record, physicians from the MGH discuss the case of a teenage girl via teleconference aboard the hospital ship U.S.N.S. Mercy. Although healthy prior to the tsunamis in Indonesia on December 26, 2004, this young woman arrived aboard the hospital ship with respiratory distress and hemiparesis (paralysis on one side of the body).
Losing Your First Patient
With contributions by Frank Brincheiro, MD, Rebekah M. Chapnick, MD, and Susan D. Block, MD
Losing a patient is one of the most stressful and daunting events during the career of a physician. How do physicians-in-training reconcile the loss of a first patient with their commitment to deliver the best health care possible and the need to be sensitive and compassionate?
Physician Shortages: Family Practice in Rural Communities
A Perspective with Howard K. Rabinowitz, MD, Thomas Jefferson University
Twenty percent of Americans live in rural areas, but these areas are some of the most underserved regions with respect to healthcare. Why is there a shortage of physicians practicing in rural areas despite potentially higher standards of living? What is being done to reverse this trend?
Images in Clinical Medicine: Dislocation of the Lens – An NEJM Original Article
Mathur and Grodinsky, NEJM, June 10 2004, Vol 350(24):e22
Beginning with this image of two CT scans, the Next Generation will feature Images in Clinical Medicine from the New England Journal of Medicine to familiarize students interested in medicine to current diagnostic imaging methods and interesting medical cases.
The Emergence of Physician-Owned Specialty Hospitals – An NEJM Original Article
Health Policy Report by J.K. Iglehart, NEJM, January 6 2005, Vol 352(1)
With the increasing development of physician-owned specialty hospitals, their competitive practices with general hospitals have become a contentious issue amongst health care providers and politicians. In this article, the history, present challenges, and future fate of specialty hospitals are examined.
Mortgaging our Future — The Cost of Medical Education – An NEJM Original Article
Perspective Article by G. Morrizon, M.D., NEJM, January 13 2005, Vol 352(2)
Medical education costs have rapidly increased over the past two decades: this phenomenon is discouraging many students from choosing medicine as a career and pressuring those who do to practice in high-income specialties. The Vice Dean of Education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine details the extent of the problem and the role of medical schools in alleviating this financial burden of future physicians.
Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Cognitive Function in Women – An NEJM Original Article
Original Article by M.J. Stampferm, M.D. et al., NEJM, January 20 2005, Vol 352(3)
While excessive alcohol consumption is damaging to the brain, several studies have suggested possible health benefits from moderate intake. This large-scale study corroborates those findings, suggesting that up to one drink daily may decrease the risk of cognitive decline in elderly women.
Tutorial: An Introduction to Clinical Trials Part I of II: Purposes and Phases
Part I of II: Purposes and Phases
How does a company convince the FDA that a potential therapy is safe and effective? What happens in the twenty years it can take for a new drug to make it to the market? This first part of a two-part tutorial on clinical trials explains how they are conducted, what they aim to achieve, and why they are the gold standard of research for clinical medicine.
