Volume 2
Robotic Surgery
A NextGen Perspectives Article
Despite high initial costs and upkeep, surgical robots are making their way into hospitals around the world. Combining the advantages of tremorless operation with laparoscopic surgical practices, robotic surgery appears to be the next step of improvement in making surgery as minimally invasive as possible.
Pathways Through Medicine: Careers in Medicine – An Introduction
Fourth through Seventh Installments of NextGen’s “Pathways Through Medicine” Series
As part of the Pathways through Medicine series, we are interviewing several physicians in a variety of career settings and roles beyond the traditional notion of physicians as clinicians. What goals, motivations, and qualities should a physician have when working in a clinic in a developing country? How do the experiences of M.D.’s and M.D.-Ph.D.’s going into research careers differ? What does it mean to be a doctor in private practice? For answers to these questions, check out the following articles as well as future installments of this series.
Pathways Through Medicine: Careers in Medicine – Private Practice
Considering private practice? Read on learn more about the world of private practitioners!
“Careers in Medicine” aims to illustrate the destinations, whether temporary (for a few years) or permanent (for the remainder of one’s medical career), where physicians can apply their skills and energy to make a difference in the world of medicine, often beyond the scale of the clinical work of a single physician.
Pathways Through Medicine: Careers in Medicine – Teaching
Considering a career in teaching? Read on learn more about the world of teaching for academic medicine!
“Careers in Medicine” aims to illustrate the destinations, whether temporary (for a few years) or permanent (for the remainder of one’s medical career), where physicians can apply their skills and energy to make a difference in the world of medicine, often beyond the scale of the clinical work of a single physician.
Avian Flu
A NextGen Perspectives Article
With greater public awareness of the potential for an H5N1 pandemic, governments and public health officials are scrambling to prepare for the worse. What has been done? What should be done? University of Virginia School of Medicine at Charlottesville Professor Frederick Hayden and Director for the Center of Infectious Disease Research and Policy Professor Michael Osterholm offer their expert opinions.
Reform of Drug Regulation – An NEJM Sounding Board Article
Reform of Drug Regulation
by W. A. Ray and C. M. Stein, NEJM, January 12 2006, Vol 354(2)
Recent withdrawals of high-profile drugs highlight the limitations of drug regulation by the FDA and safety testing by the pharmaceutical industry. Conflicting interests of manufacturers and the FDA afflict the current system. To avoid “drug disasters,” the authors propose increasing the availability of post-marketing data, curtailing the influence of manufacturers on drug release, and raising physician awareness of all available drug data.
Volunteering Overseas – An NEJM Audio Interview
A. J. Wolfberg, NEJM, February 2 2006, Vol 354(5)
Every year, thousands of physicians, including Senator Bill Frist, travel to developing countries to lend their skills and expertise. In the brief time away, these volunteer physicians focus on direct patient care, medical education, public health promotion, or improvement of the local health care infrastructure.
Home Testing for HIV – An NEJM Perspective Article
A. A. Wright and I. T. Katz, NEJM, February 2 2006, Vol 354(5)
Do-it-yourself HIV home test kits may be hitting over-the counter shelves sooner than we think. After two decades, the FDA has changed its position on HIV home test kits, citing home tests as excellent screening tools that may be a step forward in stopping the spread of the AIDS epidemic.
Ethnic and Racial Differences in the Smoking-Related Risks of Lung Cancer – An NEJM Original Article
C. A. Haiman et al., NEJM, January 26 2006, Vol 354 (4)
80-90% of lung cancer cases are attributable to cigarette smoking. However, the incidence of lung cancer varies greatly across race and ethnic groups. The Multiethnic Cohort Study finds that among cigarette smokers (who smoke less than 30 cigarettes per day), African Americans and Native Hawaiians are more susceptible to lung cancer than Japanese Americans, Latinos and white men and women.
Pathways Through Medicine: M.D.-M.B.A.s
The Third Installment in NextGen’s “Pathways Through Medicine” Series
Many medical schools are now offering joint M.D.–M.B.A. programs that train physicians to address problems at the intersection of medicine, business, and policy. In coming years, how will these physicians apply their skills to the big problems in health care?
