The goals of research, it is suggested, must reflect the needs of the times. Recent research showing that much disease and illness may be preventable is the impetus for government sponsorship of health promotion/disease prevention activities in the medical community. (MLW)

Sport-specific preparticipation examinations do not address social problems (drug abuse, suicide, murder, accidents, and sex) epidemic among teenagers, but they are often the only contact these youth have with a physician. This article discusses these risk factors and presents methods for assessing them during preparticipation exams. (SM)

Presents a case report of a 15-year-old boy with severe hemophilia who played soccer 1 school year but was denied continued participation following another screening examination. Before deciding about participation, physicians must assess the type and severity of hemophilia and risk factors for injury. Appropriate sports for hemophiliacs are…

Since Magic Johnson's retirement, athletes and sports organizations are more interested in HIV and AIDS. Many seek answers from physicians about the risk of transmission through athletic competition and the rights of HIV-positive players. Physicians can counsel patients about reducing risk. The article discusses risk, testing, policies, education,…

The benefit of selecting educational programs based on proven research is that they can deliver what is promised if they are implemented as intended. These research-based educational programs are like the medicine that your physician prescribes. Improvement in the medical condition requires that the medicine be taken as prescribed. These…

The aim of this study was to investigate whether a physiological measure of impaired use of context could be obtained in people with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). The experimental paradigm employed was the use of electroencephalography to measure the detection of semantic incongruity within written sentences, as indexed by an N400 event-related…

The Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2005 created an innovative competitive grant program aimed at stimulating faculty to submit more and better NIH research proposals, thereby increasing the probability of success. In this internal competition, three experienced external reviewers critique each proposal and assign a priority…

Improving the conditions under which incarcerated populations give "informed consent" is a desirable goal given prisoners' lack of autonomy; part of the Institutional Review Board's (IRB) procedures is the inclusion of representative voices from the prisoner population as a mechanism to reduce harms. The most recent review of the ethics of…

This essay examines the effects of commercialization on education with particular focus on corporatization of academic research. This trend results from a business model of education, which I identify as profit-based inquiry. I contrast profit-based inquiry with Nicholas Maxwell's conception of wisdom-based inquiry and conclude that the business…

Objective: This dissertation developed an automatic classification procedure, as an example of a novel tool for an informationist, which extracts information from published abstracts, classifies abstracts into their "fields of study," and then determines the researcher's "field of study" and "level of activity." …

The No Child Left Behind Act is comprised of four pillars, one of which is "proven education methods." This paper attempts to provide a historical context for the development of evidence-based education by examining its foundation in medical practice. Next, the rationale for evidence of educational effectiveness based on a scientific…

Through the three student exchange programs administered by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), approximately 23,300 residents of 15 Western states are enrolled at reduced levels of tuition across a spectrum of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. This annual report covers Fall 2007 enrollments in the…

For students pursuing careers in medical fields, knowledge of technical and medical terminology is prerequisite to being able to solve problems in their respective disciplines and professions. The Dean Vaughn Medical Terminology 350 Total Retention System, also known as Medical Terminology 350 (25), is a mnemonic instructional and learning…

Physician-patient communication is a clinical skill that can be learned and has a positive impact on patient satisfaction and health outcomes. A concerted effort at all medical schools is now directed at teaching and evaluating this core skill. Student communication skills are often assessed by an Objective Structure Clinical Examination (OSCE).…

The curriculum of the General Internal Medicine Residency at the University of California, San Diego, has been designed to prepare graduates for the practice of general as opposed to subspecialty internal medicine. Relevant psychobehavioral topics are incorporated and residents are exposed to long-term management of psychiatric patients. (LBH)