Faculty Bibliography

The New York University School of Medicine has a rich tradition of cultivating programs in medical humanities and professionalism. They are drawn from the departments, centers, students, and faculty in the School of Medicine, have linkages throughout the university, and are interwoven into the fabric and culture of the institution. Some are centrally based in the School of Medicine's deans' office, and others are located in individual departments and receive support from the dean's office. This article describes representative programs for medical students and faculty. Curricular initiatives, the fundamental components of medical students' learning, include a course entitled 'The Physician, Patient, and Society,' a clerkship essay in the Medicine Clerkship, an opportunity for reflection during the medicine clerkship, and a medical humanities elective. In 2002, the Professionalism Initiative was launched to enhance and reflect the values of the medical profession. Its curriculum consists of a series of events that coordinate, particularly, with existing elements of the first-year curriculum (e.g., orientation week, a session during anatomy, a self-assessment workshop, and a peer-assessment workshop). The Master Scholars Program is a group of five, theme-based master societies consisting of faculty and students who share common interests around the society's themes. Programs developed for the societies include colloquia, faculty-led seminars, a mandatory student-mentoring program, and visiting scholars. Finally, the authors describe three high-quality literary publications created at New York University School of Medicine. Each of the initiatives undergoes regular critical examination and reflection that drive future planning

PROBLEM STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND: Cross-cultural experiences are in increasing demand by both graduate and undergraduate medical students, yet the benefits of these experiences are not clearly established. METHOD: A review of the literature was conducted to identify articles on the outcomes of cross-cultural experiences. Themes were identified and categorized into domains. RESULTS: Forty-two studies were found; 27 articles used qualitative methods, nine used quantitative methods, and six used both. Most (24) were from the nursing literature, 18 were from the medical literature. All studies reported positive outcomes along four domains: students' professional development, students' personal development, medical school benefits, and host population benefits. CONCLUSIONS: Studies reviewed were primarily case controlled or case series. Future research is needed that more clearly defines outcome measures and uses more rigorous methods. Although results suggest positive outcomes in all domains, additional research is needed before cross-cultural rotations can be supported based on evidence.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine whether physician recommendations for cardiac revascularization vary according to patient race. METHODS: We studied patients scheduled for coronary angiography at 2 hospitals, one public and one private, between November 1997 and June 1999. Cardiologists were interviewed regarding their recommendations for cardiac resvacularization. RESULTS: African American patients were less likely than Whites to be recommended for revascularization at the public hospital (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.12, 0.77) but not at the private hospital (adjusted OR = 1.69; 95% CI = 0.69, 4.14). CONCLUSIONS: Physician recommendations for cardiac revascularization vary by patient race. Further studies are needed to examine physician bias as a factor in racial disparities in cardiac care and outcomes

Asylum seekers arriving in the United States are often imprisoned for months or years while their asylum claims are processed. Recently, Physicians for Human Rights and the Bellevue/New York University Program for Survivors of Torture released the findings of the first systematic study examining the health of detained asylum seekers. The study found that the mental health of asylum seekers interviewed was extremely poor, including high levels of symptoms for anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder, which worsened the longer individuals were in detention. The study also raises concerns about the manner in which asylum seekers are treated upon arrival in the United States and then while in detention. These findings support assertions that detention has a harmful effect on the health and well-being of asylum seekers. Policies regarding the long-term detention of asylum seekers should be reconsidered

In their vigil for a possible return of SARS, health officials have focused mainly on finding where the virus hides in nature. But the case of severe acute respiratory syndrome in a 27-year-old doctoral student in Singapore has shown an equally important risk -- escape of the virus from a laboratory. 'Inappropriate laboratory standards and a cross-contamination of West Nile virus samples with SARS coronavirus in the laboratory led to the infection of the doctoral student,' the committee reported. No additional spread occurred, preserving the disease's eradication. But the scientist in charge of the laboratory committed suicide. Now, many laboratories around the world have stored thousands of SARS specimens in freezers, ready to be thawed as needed. The WHO has cautioned China and other countries that accidents may occur in laboratories where there is little experience with dangerous infectious agents

''Inappropriate laboratory standards and a cross-contamination of West Nile virus samples with SARS coronavirus in the laboratory led to the infection of the doctoral student,'' the committee reported. After the epidemic ended, the laboratory worked on the West Nile virus and SARS coronavirus at the same time. The committee said that the laboratory did not pause to review its procedures and that its record-keeping system was poor. As part of the committee's investigation, it asked Singapore scientists to thaw and test a stored vial that was supposed to contain West Nile virus only. SARS virus was also detected

The researcher worked in a laboratory that Singapore had created to study the West Nile virus and other diseases before SARS became an epidemic earlier this year. The laboratory grew the SARS virus to provide materials for developing diagnostic tests. Because the Singapore government and the health organization's officials are deeply concerned about the possibility of SARS accidentally escaping from a laboratory, Singapore asked the health organization, a Geneva-based U.N. agency, to send an expert committee to investigate the circumstances of the researcher's case