Keeping an eye on cardiovascular risk. A practical, case-study approach to assessment in office practice.

Primary care physicians typically encounter patients who are not at obvious risk for CAD but who nonetheless need and can benefit from lipid-lowering therapy. Applying algorithms or scoring systems can be helpful in estimating an individual patient's risk, but the basic tools available in everyday clinical practice can be used to alert physicians to elevated CAD risk in their patients. Those patients whose LDL-C level is at or above 220 mg/dL (5.

New insights into causes and treatments of kidney stones.

Recent findings have provided insight into the molecular basis of kidney stone formation and entirely changed our approach to management of calcium stones. Understanding the role of genetic factors and the various promotors and inhibitors of stone formation should lead to more effective prophylaxis and treatment of other types of stones as well.

Screening for open-angle glaucoma.

Chronic (open-angle) glaucoma is a leading cause of new cases of blindness in the United States. This blindness is a result of increased intraocular pressure and deterioration of the optic nerve. Nearly 2 million Americans have glaucoma.

Effect of a year-long primary care clerkship on graduates' selection of family practice residencies.

This report compares the selection of family practice residencies from 1981 through 1989 by graduates trained at two campuses of the State University of New York (SUNY)-Health Science Center at Syracuse College of Medicine, at other New York State campuses, and at all U.S. medical schools.

Factors encouraging research productivity in a division of general internal medicine.

The authors investigated two of the causes of and possible remedies for low research activity (as measured by rate of publication) of faculty members in a division of general internal medicine at a university hospital and its affiliated Veterans Administration medical center. They did this by analyzing information about the faculty in the health center's records spanning a 16-year period. This 1989 study suggests that the general medicine faculty members who are also involved in subspecialties and who have protected research time can improve their research productivity.

Evaluation of a communication skills course for second-year medical students.

A five-year evaluation and redesign of the communication skills component of the Introduction to Clinical Medicine course was undertaken at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse College of Medicine. The objectives of the evaluation were to determine the effectiveness of the component in teaching communication skills, identify areas of the component in need of change, and monitor the effectiveness of previous changes. In the first three years, the evaluation focused on the students' perceptions of the importance of communication skills in their training as physicians.