Monday, August 02, 2004

Promotional Talks for the Pharmaceutical Industry
Medscape Psychopharmacology Today article - " Medical education in the United States has begun to embrace a new paradigm -- core competencies. The idea behind this paradigm is that it is no longer sufficient to provide education to students and physicians, but that the education system must also somehow ascertain individual competency. As a point of departure for the adoption of the competency model, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (the institution responsible for residency training) and the American Board of Medical Specialties (the institution responsible for Board certification) have agreed on 6 general categories of competency. A discussion of all 6 of these is beyond the scope of this column, so I will focus on one of them: 'practice-based learning.' Practice-based learning is defined as the ability of physicians to remain knowledgeable and current in their field throughout their career..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Proportion of Tennessee children using antipsychotic medications up significantly
Press release from the JAMA and Archives web site, reprinted at EurekAlert - "The proportion of children and adolescents in Tennessee taking antipsychotic medications nearly doubled between 1996 and 2001, with the largest increase in the use of antipsychotics to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and affective disorders, according to an article in the August issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a theme issue on pediatric mental health and one of the JAMA/Archives journals. According to the article, the use of antipsychotic medications in children and adolescents for illnesses other than Tourette syndrome or psychosis is controversial, although some studies indicate that antipsychotics may help treat symptoms associated with behavior disorders including attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and conduct disorders..." See also the online table of contents for the August issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine - linked abstracts are available at no cost, while full text of the articles requires payment. A number of other articles in that issue are covered in EurekAlert press releases as well - see Adolescents hospitalized for psychiatric disorders experience more emotional distress in adulthood, Family meals appear to be associated with adolescent's well-being and Involvement in bullying linked with poor psychosocial adjustment.