CAM Curriculum Activities to Enhance Professionalism Training in Medical Schools.

Enhancing the professionalism of graduates is a major objective of most health care education institutions today. Educating conventional health care providers about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) may directly and indirectly improve trainee professionalism by expanding trainees' knowledge and appreciation of diverse health care beliefs and practices, improving physician-patient communication, enhancing self-care, and increasing sense of competence and job satisfaction. A survey based on professional competencies proposed by the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine was administered to the grantees of the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine R-25 CAM education project initiative. The survey's aim was to identify project activities that taught professionalism skills. All projects reported curricular features that enhanced trainee professionalism, with substantial percentages of project effort directed toward professionalism-related activities.

A comparison of Caucasian and Southeast Asian Hmong uterine fundal height during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Fundal height measurement is a standard clinical assessment tool used in prenatal care. This study compared the fundal heights growth curves of two ethnically distinct groups of pregnant women. We were motivated by our clinical experience with one group where fundal heights seemed 'small for date' and by the reluctance of this group to undergo further testing, especially ultrasound. METHODS: A prospective cohort study compared the fundal heights growth curve of 48 Caucasian and 40 Hmong women from two clinics in central Wisconsin (USA). RESULTS: Southeast Asian Hmong women were found to have a slower rate of fundal height growth than Caucasian women (significantly different average slopes of .88 vs. .95, respectively). An expectation of linear growth appeared more valid for Caucasian than Hmong women. At 40 weeks, regression based estimates overestimated the Caucasian sample by 1.3 weeks and the Hmong sample by 2.7 weeks. ANCOVA procedures remained significant while controlling for group differences in height. Fundal height measurements were moderately predictive of birth weight for the Hmong sample but not the Caucasian sample (multiple r=.39). CONCLUSIONS: Considerable differences emerged between fundal height measures for the Hmong and Caucasian samples. The improved ability to differentiate groups following control of variance due to height as well as the ability to predict birth weight from fundal height curve in the Hmong group argue for value of normative development using more homogeneous groups. Clinicians should consider the applicability of fundal height norms to their clinical populations and may be able to have more confidence in using fundal height as an evaluative tool with more appropriate norms.

The WAMI Rural Hospital Project. Part 3: Building health care leadership in rural communities.

The WAMI Rural Hospital Project (RHP) intervention combined aspects of community development, strategic planning and organizational development to address the leadership issues in six Northwest rural hospitals. Hospitals and physicians, other community health care providers and local townspeople were involved in this intervention, which was accomplished in three phases. In the first phase, extensive information about organizational effectiveness was collected at each site. Phase two consisted of 30 hours of education for the physician, board, and hospital administrator community representatives covering management, hospital board governance, and scope of service planning. In the third phase, each community worked with a facilitator to complete a strategic plan and to resolve conflicts addressed in the management analyses. The results of the evaluation demonstrated that the greatest change noted among RHP hospitals was improvement in the effectiveness of their governing boards. All boards adopted some or all of the project's model governance plan and had successfully completed considerable portions of their strategic plans by 1989. Teamwork among the management triad (hospital, board, and medical staff) was also substantially improved. Other improvements included the development of marketing plans for the three hospitals that did not initially have them and more effective use of outside consultants. The project had less impact on improving the functioning of the medical chief of staff, although this was not a primary target of the intervention. There was also relatively less community interest in joining regional health care associations. The authors conclude that an intervention program tailored to address specific community needs and clearly identified leadership deficiencies can have a positive effect on rural health care systems.

The WAMI Rural Hospital Project. Part 4: Improving the financial health of rural hospitals.

Sound financial management has been identified as a critical component of effective hospital administration. Inadequate financial practices are a leading factor in the failure of hospitals. As part of the Rural Hospital Project (RHP), which operated in six rural Northwest communities from 1985 to 1988, detailed and extensive analyses of financial practices were conducted to identify strengths and weaknesses of the hospitals' financial management. In addition, 15 hours of formal education covering a variety of financial topics were presented to project participants. Results of the evaluation demonstrated that the greatest degree of change occurred in the financial management leadership capacity of the hospitals. All five hospitals, which either had no chief financial officer initially or subsequently experienced a turnover in the position, recruited individuals with strong qualifications. Vacancies in the administrator position in three of the four hospitals were filled by individuals with stronger financial management qualifications than their predecessors. Hospital board finance committees were formed in three of the four communities which previously did not have them. The biggest changes in financial practices occurred in the budgeting processes, which by 1989 better reflected the goals and strategies of the hospital's strategic plans. The financial performance of the six hospitals varied considerably over the study period. As a group, the RHP hospitals continued to require substantial nonoperating subsidies to remain solvent, despite improved financial practices. Despite the methodological limitations of this evaluation, we conclude that the intervention improved the capacity of the hospital administrations' financial leadership, as well as that of the governing boards, and led to substantial improvement in selected financial practices at all sites. Rural hospitals continue to operate in a hostile and precarious financial environment that limits their ability to sustain themselves on the basis of operating revenue alone.