News bites
Students in southeast Europe have insufficient research
knowledge
Medical students in southeast Europe generally have
poor knowledge of research methods, according to a study published in the BMJ. Researchers surveyed 4307
medical students from five southeastern European countries. Most had
positive attitudes towards science despite poor knowledge of research
techniques. Increasing emphasis on critical thinking and scientific methods
may help, said the authors. Doing so will help students in adopting
evidence based medicine techniques favoured by the European Union (BMJ 2005;331:195-6).
Pfizer warned about false advertising
The US Federal Drug Administration (FDA) warned
pharmaceutical company Pfizer about its “misleading promotion”
of the antibiotic Zyvox (linezolid). A Pfizer advertisement was printed in
a professional journal but did not include sufficient information about the
drug’s risks, said the FDA in a July letter. The advert also claimed
that Zyvox can be used to treat more infections than those for which it was
approved and implied, without evidence, that Zyvox is superior to its
competitors. The FDA asked Pfizer to remove the adverts and to send out
proper information in its place. Zyvox is used to treat skin infections and
two types of pneumonia, including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Side effects
include anaemia and accumulation of lactic acid in the blood (www.fda.gov).
China considers banning medicine adverts
The Chinese Ministry of Health is considering banning
medical treatment advertisements, which flood the media with exaggerated
and false claims. Health Minister Gao Qiang said that the ministry
submitted a plan for banning the adverts to the State Council for their
approval. According to recent research, most adverts break laws and
regulations with their exaggerated claims. The government has taken steps
in recent years to curb their penetration of the media, but the process is
challenging because of the large number of small companies who advertise
(www.chinadaily.com.cn/english).
Russian parliamentarian calls for ban on international
adoptions
GETTY IMAGES
The WHO have appealed for $1.3m to meet health needs in famine stricken Niger
A Russian parliament member proposed a moratorium on
the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where those
children have reportedly been abused. Yekaterina Lakhova, chairwoman of the
State Duma Committee on Women’s Issues, the Family, and Youth,
proposed the moratorium, which would impact upon countries such as the
United States. She also called for stricter criminal and civil liability
for agencies that handle Russian adoptions. According to Ms Lakhova, 9600
Russian children were adopted by foreign citizens in 2004, compared with
7400 Russian children adopted by Russians (www.russiajournal.com/news).
Immigrants in the US receive less health care, study
says
Immigrants living in the United States receive, on
average, about half the healthcare services that their US born counterparts
receive, regardless of age, legal status, or insurance coverage. According
to a study published in the American Journal of
Public Health (2005;95:1431-8), immigrants in
the United States account for $39.5bn (£22bn; a32bn) in healthcare expenditures. They
receive an average of $1139 in health care per capita. Their US
counterparts get $2564 per capita. The difference was more noticeable in
children. The study refutes the common assumption in the US that immigrants
place a disproportionate financial burden on the US health care system.
BMA explains Foundation Programmes
In August, the United Kingdom implemented the
foundation programme for postgraduate training. The two year programme will
replace the one year preregistration house officer post and the first year
of the senior house office post. To aid those confused about the process,
the English Modernising Medical Careers group, the BMA Medical Students
Committee, and the BMA Junior Doctors Committee collaborated to create a Rough Guide to the Foundation Programmes. The guide explains the programme, application procedures,
assessments, placements, and study leave, among other topics. Hard copies
of the guide will be distributed to final year students and trainees and
those in foundation programme pilots. It is also available online
(www.bma.org.uk).
Bush approves law for medical error reporting
President Bush signed the Patient Safety and Quality
Improvement Act into law on 29 July, eliciting statements of approval and
happiness from the American Medical Association (AMA). The law allows
confidential reporting of medical errors to patient safety organizations,
which will analyse the data and develop strategies for improving
patients’ safety. AMA President J Edward Hill called the law
“the catalyst we need to transform the current culture of blame and
punishment into one of open communication and prevention”
(www.ama-assn.org).
Harvard University board member quits in protest of
university’s president
One of Harvard University’s governing board
members quit in protest over a pay raise for Lawrence Summers, the
controversial university president. In July, the board agreed to give Mr
Summers a 3% raise on his 2004-5 salary of $563,000. Conrad Harper, one of
seven board members, quit on 2 August in response. Mr Summers had received
numerous criticisms in the past few months. In a recent speech, he
suggested that women did not have an “intrinsic” aptitude for
the sciences, inciting some to call for his resignation. Mr Harper said he
had been arguing for Mr Summers’ resignation for months because Mr
Summers offended not only women, but also Native Americans and black
professors. Mr Harper’s resignation was a public display that the
university’s seven member board is not unified in its support for the
president (http://nytimes.com).
Niger crisis
The World Health Organization have appealed for $1.3m
to meet health needs in famine stricken Niger. It has warned that 3.5
million people are affected by continuing famine in the country, and has
highlighted malnourishment as risk factors for susceptibility to diseases
such as malaria, hepatitis, and measles. Already, cholera outbreaks have
been reported in the region. Currently, the United Nations is calling for
£20m in aid, of which one third has been pledged worldwide. Its World
Food Programme has begun to distribute food aid to more remote villages to
those badly undernourished (www.who.int; news.bbc.co.uk).
Shortages of senior house officer posts
A BMA survey in the UK among house officers has found
that nearly two fifths did not have an senior house officer post a week
before they were to start their next jobs, and most of those who replied
expressed concerns regarding future availability of training schemes. The
BMA expressed its concerns that rising numbers of medical students did not
translate into more postgraduate training places. The Department of Health
denied that doctors were being left unemployed and said that competition
for jobs was always intense in August (www.timesonline.co.uk;
www.bma.org.uk).
LONELY PLANET IMAGES/GETTY
Hey dude,where's my job?
Bird flu is stoppable
Teams of scientists from the UK and US have said that a
pandemic of human influenza from the H5N1 strain “is
stoppable.” Using mathematical models, they claim that the virus must
be confined to fewer than 30 people, and widespread antiviral medication
given to 20000 nearest those infected, to be deployed anywhere in the
world at short notice. In an article in Nature, Neil Ferguson and his team have cited surveillance as one
of the greatest challenges to detect any outbreaks of influenza, while
calling on governments to act now to collaborate and contribute resources
(www.nature.com).
studentBMJ 2005;13:309-352 September ISSN 0966-6494
