Guild interests: an insidious threat to professionalism in obstetrics and gynecology.

Powerful incentives now exist that could subordinate professionalism to guild self-interest. How obstetrician-gynecologists respond to these insidious incentives will determine whether guild self-interests will define our specialty. We provide ethically justified, practical guidance to obstetrician-gynecologists to prevent this ethically unacceptable outcome.

Professional medical associations and their relationships with industry: a proposal for controlling conflict of interest.

Professional medical associations (PMAs) play an essential role in defining and advancing health care standards. Their conferences, continuing medical education courses, practice guidelines, definitions of ethical norms, and public advocacy positions carry great weight with physicians and the public. Because many PMAs receive extensive funding from pharmaceutical and device companies, it is crucial that their guidelines manage both real and perceived conflict of interests.

Outlook for the future of the obstetrician-gynecologist workforce.

Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the future physician workforce with a sample of obstetrician-gynecologists.

Study Design: Two separate surveys regarding career satisfaction and retirement plans were sent to random samples of obstetrician-gynecologists under age 50 years (n = 2,000) and over the age of 50 (n = 2,100).

Results: Obstetrician-gynecologists over the age of 50 years who were working part time or were female were more satisfied than those working full time or were male.

Obstetrician-gynecologists and primary care: training during obstetrics-gynecology residency and current practice patterns.

Purpose: To assess obstetrician-gynecologists' perceptions of their residency training in primary care, document health issues assessed at annual visits, and identify practice patterns of both generalist and specialist obstetrician-gynecologists.

Method: Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 1,711 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Young Fellows in September 2005. Information was gathered on perceptions about adequacy of residency training, how well training prepared obstetrician-gynecologists for current practice, and typical practice patterns for various medical diagnoses.