Changes in career decisions of internal medicine residents during training.

Background: Little is known about the timing and stability of internal medicine resident career decisions during the course of residency training.

Objective: To assess changes in reported career plans among internal medicine trainees during their training.

Design: Observational cohort using data collected as part of the annual Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (IM-ITE) survey.

Comparison of epoetin alfa and darbepoetin alfa biological activity under different administration schedules in normal mice.

The unit of erythropoietic activity has long been the standard by which erythropoietic agents are judged, but the development of long-acting agents such as darbepoetin alfa has highlighted the shortcomings of this approach. To this point, we compared the in vivo activity of Epoetin alfa and darbepoetin alfa per microgram of protein core. Using the established mass-to-unit conversion for Epoetin alfa (1 microg congruent with 200 U), we then calculated darbepoetin alfa activity in units.

Teaching evidence-based medicine to internal medicine residents: the efficacy of conferences versus small-group discussion.

Background: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a required component of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's Practice-Based Learning core competency.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of conferences and small-group discussions in enhancing EBM competency.

Methods: EBM conferences and small-group discussions were integrated into an internal medicine curriculum.

A curricular initiative for internal medicine residents to enhance proficiency in internal jugular central venous line placement.

Objective: To determine the feasibility, efficacy, and outcomes of teaching Internal Jugular (IJ) central venous line placement (CVLP) to internal medicine residents in a hands-on training experience with adult patients.

Subjects And Methods: Data were obtained from 47 residents during their 3-year residency program through questionnaires and a proprietary system that tracks resident procedures. Twenty-five postgraduate year (PGY) 2 residents at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, were assigned to IJ-CVLP training in the cardiac catheterization laboratory from January 2001 to June 2001.

Kinetics of haematopoietic recovery after dose-intensive chemo/radiotherapy in mice: optimized erythroid support with darbepoetin alpha.

Despite its frequency and impact on clinical outcomes, anaemia in cancer patients remains poorly understood and suboptimally treated. The definition of optimum treatment schedules with erythropoietic agents requires a suitable model of chemotherapy-induced progressive anaemia. This study investigated novel strategies such as once-per-chemotherapy-cycle dosing, synchronization between erythroid supportive care and chemotherapy, and definition of the optimum timing of erythroid support.

A real-time computer model to assess resident work-hours scenarios.

Objective: To accurately model residents' work hours and assess options to forthrightly meet Residency Review Committee-Internal Medicine (RRC-IM) requirements.

Description: The requirements limiting residents' work hours are clearly defined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the RRC-IM: "When averaged over any four-week rotation or assignment, residents must not spend more than 80 hours per week in patient care duties."(1) The call for the profession to realistically address work-hours violations is of paramount importance.

Spontaneous dissection of the infrarenal abdominal aorta.

Spontaneous infrarenal abdominal aortic dissection is rare. We observed enlargement of a spontaneous infrarenal aortoiliac dissection in a 55-year-old hypertensive man. Open surgical repair with a bifurcated polyester graft was successful.

Determining the predictors of internal medicine residency accreditation: what they do (not what they say).

Purpose: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine (RRC-IM) evaluate internal medicine residency programs using a list of 301 program requirements. The authors investigated which requirements, program demographics, and site-visitor characteristics were the strongest predictors of accreditation.

Method: The authors surveyed the program directors of all 405 accredited internal medicine residency programs in February 1998, obtaining data on the duration of the accreditation process, site visitors, and number and quality of citations.