E D Sumner — Page 2 | PubMed Health

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Using self-evaluation to maintain competence.

This limited study examined differences in pharmacists' competencies through self-assessment. By using self-assessment with specified objectives, pharmacists can target areas for CE programs. Pharmacists can then improve and maintain their competencies in these specific areas. A future study could focus on discovering the reasons some pharmacists do not feel comfortable in giving advice/information to other healthcare professionals.

Clinical Competence↗

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Family physicians' attitudes toward death and the terminally-ill patient.

Family physicians often experience a continuing relationship with the terminally-ill patient. Like other physicians, they may experience difficulty in these relationships. We surveyed 441 family physicians practicing in South Carolina to determine their personal attitudes toward death, and their feelings and reactions toward terminally-ill patients and their families. Physicians aged 50 years and older had a significantly more positive attitude toward death than did physicians aged 25-34 years (p less than .05). In addition, more positive attitudes were present in physicians who had a strong religious orientation (p less than .002) or had received some death education instruction in medical school (p less than .002). The study suggests that the basic concepts of death and dying should be included in medical school curricula. In addition, a medical education series offering practitioners an opportunity to express their feelings about this topic might also be beneficial.

Adult↗