Coda and Catharsis: Exploring the Emotional Challenges and Coping of Junior Palliative Physicians Through Cinematic Reflection.

There has been little research on reflective tools for junior doctors, whom may have encountered challenges working in palliative care whereby grief and losses are high. This is a qualitative study aiming to firstly explore the emotional challenges of junior doctors and secondly whether the movie is an effective reflective tool. 32 junior doctors rotating through the palliative care unit were recruited and underwent a combined movie screening with a focus group discussion after.

A practical clinical approach to liver fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis is a slow, insidious process involving accumulation of extracellular matrix protein in the liver. The stage of liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease (CLD) determines overall morbidity and mortality; the higher the stage, the worse the prognosis. Noninvasive composite scores can be used to determine whether patients with CLD have significant or advanced fibrosis.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Chinese preschoolers in Singapore.

Introduction: This study examines the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 6- to 72-month-old Chinese preschoolers in Singapore using 3 references.

Materials And Methods: This was a population-based cross-sectional study of 3009 Chinese preschoolers aged 6 to 72 months from southwestern and western parts of Singapore. Overweight and obesity were defi ned by using the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (85th and 95th percentile, respectively), the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the local National Health Group Polyclinics (NHGP), Singapore (90th and 97th percentile, respectively) references.

Postgraduate family medicine training in Singapore--a new way forward.

Postgraduate Family Medicine (FM) training is important to train future primary care doctors to provide accessible and cost effective healthcare. In Singapore, a structured postgraduate FM training programme has been available for 20 years. This programme is characterised by involvement of both FM and non-FM doctors, well written modules and a rigorous assessment process.

Acceptability of medical students by patients from private and public family practices and specialist outpatient clinics.

Introduction: Previous studies on patient acceptance of medical student teaching were from Western populations and in one setting only. However, there has been no prospective study comparing patient acceptability before and after an actual experience. We studied patient acceptability of medical student teaching in private and public family practices and public hospital specialist outpatient clinics in Singapore, and before and after an actual medical student teaching consultation.

Attitudes towards the elderly among Singapore medical students.

Introduction: It is important that medical students possess the correct attitude towards the elderly and not have an ageist attitude. This is because they will be caring for an increasing proportion of elderly patients. We thus sought to assess the attitudes of our medical students towards the elderly.

Characteristics, and disease control and complications of hypertensive patients in primary-care - a community-based study in Singapore.

Introduction: Hypertension is a common chronic condition usually managed by primary-care practitioners in Singapore. This study assessed the characteristics, control and complications of non-diabetic hypertensive patients managed at government primary healthcare clinics.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 9 clinics was conducted over 1-week in 2006.

Self-rated health, associated factors and diseases: a community-based cross-sectional study of Singaporean adults aged 40 years and above.

Introduction: Subjective indicators of health like self-rated health (SRH) have been shown to be a predictor of mortality and morbidity. We determined the prevalence of poor SRH in Singapore and its association with various lifestyle and socioeconomic factors and disease states.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional survey by interviewer-administered questionnaire of participants aged 40 years and above.

A cross-sectional study of primary-care physicians in Singapore on their concerns and preparedness for an avian influenza outbreak.

Introduction: During an avian influenza (AI) pandemic, primary-care physicians (PCPs) are expected to play key roles in the prevention and control of the disease. Different groups of PCPs could have different concerns and preparedness level. We assessed the concerns, perceived impact and preparedness for an outbreak among PCPs in Singapore.

Translating the family medicine vision into educational programmes in Singapore.

The core of the Family Medicine (FM) vision is patient-centred care, requiring specific education and vocational training. We traced how FM education started and what have been achieved. FM training began in 1971 with the formation of the College of General Practitioners Singapore.

Family medicine education in Singapore: a long-standing collaboration between specialists and family physicians.

In many countries, family medicine (FM) training has been conducted mainly by senior family physicians alone. However, FM training in Singapore in the last 30 years has involved specialists working in close collaboration with family physicians. The areas in which specialists are currently involved include the training of FM trainees in tertiary hospitals, the Master of Medicine in Family Medicine [MMed (FM)] and Graduate Diploma in Family Medicine (GDFM) programmes.

Concerns, perceived impact and preparedness in an avian influenza pandemic--a comparative study between healthcare workers in primary and tertiary care.

Introduction: With the potential threat of an avian influenza (AI) pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) are expected to play important roles, and they encounter significant stress levels from an expected increase in workload. We compared the concerns, perceived impact and preparedness for an AI pandemic between HCWs working in public primary care clinics and a tertiary healthcare setting.

Materials And Methods: An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was given to 2459 HCWs working at 18 public polyclinics (PCs) and a tertiary hospital (TH) in Singapore from March to June 2006.

The effect of cotton-based collection methods on eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) concentrations detected in saliva.

Background: Salivary eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) level has the potential to be an assessment tool for asthma. Its measurement is not well-established and needs standardization. We studied how passive drool (PD) and two commercial devices, Salivette(®) (cotton-based device) and Sorbette(®) (cellulose-cotton-based-device), may affect ECP levels during collection among healthy subjects.

Concerns and preparedness for an avian influenza pandemic: a comparison between community hospital and tertiary hospital healthcare workers.

Little is known about differences in levels of concerns or preparedness for an avian influenza (AI) pandemic among healthcare workers (HCWs) in different types of hospitals. We compared these concerns and preparedness between 326 HCWs of two community hospitals (CHs) and 908 HCWs from a tertiary hospital (TH) using a self-administered questionnaire between March-June 2006. Response rates were 84.