BACKGROUND Numerous empirical studies from various populations and settings link patient treatment adherence to physician-patient communication. Meta-analysis allows estimates of the overall effects both in correlational research and in experimental interventions involving the training of physicians' communication skills. OBJECTIVES Calculation and analysis of "r effect sizes" and moderators ...

THE August 16, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology contains an article titled “Clinical Competence Statement on Vascular Medicine and Catheter-Based Peripheral Vascular Interventions (1).” It is an official multisociety statement from the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American College of Physicians, the Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions, t...

The prospect of enhancing cognition is undoubtedly among the most exciting research questions currently bridging psychology, neuroscience, and evidence-based medicine. Yet, convincing claims in this line of work stem from designs that are prone to several shortcomings, thus threatening the credibility of training-induced cognitive enhancement. Here, we present seven pervasive statistical flaws ...

Low physical fitness levels are associated with increased musculoskeletal injury risk and attrition among military recruits. The authors review physical fitness trends, injury risk factors, and Department of the Army initiatives to address recruit fitness, injuries, and attrition. Initiatives include the Fitness Assessment Program, which reduced injury risk and attrition among low-fit trainees,...

This article reviews issues concerning the training and credentialing of vascular surgeons in the use of endovascular techniques in the peripheral vascular system. These guidelines update a prior document that was published in 1993. They have been rewritten to accommodate the rapid evolution that has occurred in the field and to provide the appropriate requirements that a vascular surgeon shoul...

Although progress has been made in developing a scientific basis for alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI), training packages are necessary for its widespread dissemination in primary care settings. This paper evaluates a training package developed for the Cutting Back SBI program. Three groups of medical personnel were compared before and after SBI training: physicians (n = 44), medic...

BACKGROUND Since 1879, the year of the first documented medical telephone consultation, the ability to consult by telephone has become an integral part of modern patient-centred healthcare systems. Nowadays, upwards of a quarter of all care consultations are conducted by telephone. Studies have quantified the impact of medical telephone consultation on clinicians' workload and detected the need...