Restoring professionalism: the physician fitness-for-duty evaluation.

Objectives: We compare findings from 10 years of experience evaluating physicians referred for fitness-to-practice assessment to determine whether those referred for disruptive behavior are more or less likely to be declared fit for duty than those referred for mental health, substance abuse or sexual misconduct.

Method: Deidentified data from 381 physicians evaluated by the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Assessment Program (2001-2012) were analyzed and compared to general physician population data and also to previous reports of physician psychiatric diagnosis found by MEDLINE search.

Results: Compared to the physicians referred for disruptive behavior (37.

Problematic physicians: a comparison of personality profiles by offence type.

Objective: This exploratory study compares objective personality test findings among physicians exhibiting different forms of misconduct. The importance of delineating distinctive personality characteristics by type of offence is that such characterizations can direct therapy and prognosis for remediation.

Method: Eighty-eight physicians referred to the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Assessment Program for Professionals (V-CAP) completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2, the Personality Assessment Inventory, or both, as part of their evaluation.

Group therapy for depressed elderly women.

We describe and evaluate a group therapy program targeting depression among elderly residents (N=303) of subsidized high-rise apartments in Nashville, TN. This eclectic program was comprised of 12 sessions (a total of 24 hours) that included modules on exercise and preventive health behaviors, cognitive and re-motivation therapy, reminiscence and grief therapy, and social skills development. Our multivariate regression analyses of pre-post measures using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) showed that the effects of the group therapy varied by race, age, and level of initial depression among the participants.

Adverse outcomes in group psychotherapy: risk factors, prevention, and research directions.

Group forms of therapy have been growing at a rapid rate, in part because of their documented effectiveness and economic considerations such as managed care. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to assess the psychological risks of these interventions. The author provides an overview of the published literature and conference presentations on negative effects in adult outpatient groups.

A symposium on psychotherapy in the age of managed care.

This article is based upon a symposium presented at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on the Department of Psychiatry's 50th anniversary (September 20, 1997). The panel of psychotherapy scholar-clinicians discusses issues including: whether or not managed care and psychotherapy are compatible; the relevance of the Consumer Reports' psychotherapy study to MCOs' emphasis on brief therapy; how MCOs impact upon the therapist-patient relationship; the effects of MCOs on the psychotherapist's personal and professional identity; and training psychotherapists in the era of managed care. The paper is dedicated to Pietro Castelnuovo-Tedesco, M.