Support and rewards for scholarly activity in family medicine: a national survey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This survey examined how time is allotted for family medicine faculty to pursue scholarly activities and how these activities are rewarded. METHODS: A survey was sent to all directors of family practice residency programs (n = 373) and chairs of family medicine departments (n = 112). Four primary questions were asked: 1) How is faculty time allotted for scholarly activities? 2) Does the residency or department use an explicit reward system? 3) What activities are rewarded? and 4) What rewards are used? RESULTS: A total of 363 surveys were returned, for a response rate of 75%. Forty-nine percent of respondents have regular, protected faculty time for scholarly activities. Faculty at university-based residencies and departments were more likely to have protected time (68/93, 73%) than faculty at community-based residencies (93/238, 39%). Thirty-eight percent of respondents have an explicit reward system. Activities rewarded and rewards used are department and program-type specific. CONCLUSIONS: Only 39% of community-based residencies and 73% of university programs allot regular protected time for faculty. The majority of programs and departments do not have an explicit reward system. Further studies are needed to determine if the use of protected time and reward systems enhance scholarly productivity.

Antiphospholipid syndrome.

The antiphospholipid syndrome is an illness characterized by recurrent venous or arterial thrombosis, recurrent fetal loss, and thrombocytopenia. It is diagnosed by the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies, such as anticardiolipin antibody or lupus anticoagulant. Although the antiphospholipid syndrome affects a significant number of patients, these patients may be unrecognized because the syndrome has not been well reported in the primary care literature.

The effect of patient education on pediatric immunization rates.

BACKGROUND: Over the last decade, the immunization rate among preschool children has decreased, especially in the lower socioeconomic population. During this period, reports of outbreaks of immunizable diseases, especially pertussis and measles, have correspondingly increased. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of a brief patient education encounter with new mothers on pediatric immunization rates. METHODS: Two hundred thirty-eight mothers and infants were assigned to an intervention or control group. On the first day postpartum, the mothers in the intervention group participated in a 10- to 15-minute discussion on the importance of immunizations and were given a patient education handout. A reminder letter was mailed to the intervention group at 2 months postpartum. The control group received no special intervention. Infants were followed for their 2- and 4-month immunizations for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus and oral polio vaccine (DPT/OPV). At 1 year of age, the infants' immunization records were assessed for the completion of their first three DPT/OPV immunizations. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference, by chi-square analysis, in the immunization rates of the control and intervention groups at 2, 4, or 12 months of age. At 1 year of age, 29 of 122 (24%) of the control group had received all three DPT/OPV immunizations, compared with 33 (28%) of 116 infants in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: Concordant with similar studies, the immunization rate among infants of parents of lower socioeconomic status (26%) is low. An educational intervention presented to mothers in the postpartum period did not improve the rate of immunization by the age of 12 months. There are undoubtedly several reasons for this failure. Other means to improve immunization rates of infants should be developed and tested.