Introduction:Many research reports revealed declining empathy in medical schools that continues in postgraduate years of training.Objective:The aim of this study is to examine the self-reported empathy levels of internal medicine (IM) residents in 3 community-based teaching hospitals.Methods:The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, Health Professionals version, is an online, self-administered, questionnaire that was offered to 129 current and incoming residents at 1 osteopathic and 2 allopathic, IM training programs in Flint, Michigan.Results:Forty-five residents responded (35% response rate). Our residents’ cumulative mean empathy score was 112.5 with a SD of 12.72, which is comparable with the cumulative empathy scores for IM residents at university hospitals. There was an increase in empathy score from the beginning level of training, postgraduate year 0 (PGY0), to the PGY1 level, and a noticeable, although statistically non-significant, decrease in empathy score for both PGY2 and PGY3 residents. The graduating residents’ scores were higher compared with incoming residents.Conclusions:The cumulative mean empathy score in community-based IM residents showed an increase in the beginning of residents’ training and decrease in empathy score by the end of training. There were significant differences in empathy scores by level of training at individual hospitals. This might be related to different targeted curricula.

Health literacy has repeatedly been shown to be associated with a multitude of negative health outcomes. Previous research has shown that patient health literacy levels are hard to predict by physicians and that assessment tools used to measure health literacy may be outdated or lacking. The purpose of this study is to replicate and extend the findings of previous research by examining residents’ ability to predict health literacy levels in patients and to use a newer validated measure of health literacy. A total of 38 patient encounters were included in this study. Patients were administered the Health Literacy Skills Instrument-Short Form to assess health literacy levels. Twenty resident physicians conducted visits with study participants and were asked to predict the health literacy of their patients. Results indicated that, consistent with previous research, residents’ predictions of patient health literacy were not consistent with patient health literacy levels as measured by the Health Literacy Skills Instrument-Short Form. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

BACKGROUNDRoutine management of patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) requires careful attentiveness to fluid status and diuretic treatment efficacy. New advances in ultrasound have made ultraportable echocardiography (UE) available to physicians for point-of-care use. The purpose of this study is to explore physiologic measures of intravascular fluid volume derived from UE and explore predictors of diuretic response in ADHF.METHODSVarious echocardiography imaging measurements, particularly diameter and collapse of inferior vena cava (IVC), were collected from 77 patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of ADHF. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether or not they achieved a net negative fluid output of 3 L within 48 hours. The demographic information, serum laboratory markers, and physical characteristics of the subjects were obtained to correlate with daily ultrasound measurements. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare diuretic “responders” to “nonresponders.”RESULTSA negative change in the IVC diameter at 48 hours was robust in prediction of diuretic response. For every 1 mm decrease in the IVC diameter at 48 hours, there was an odds ratio of 1.62 (95% CI: 1.20–2.19) for responding to diuretic therapy independent of other variables including baseline renal filtration function and blood B-type natriuretic peptide.CONCLUSIONAssessment of central venous pressure as a proxy for passive renal congestion independently predicts initial diuretic response in ADHF. Future research is needed to further understand the individual variation in response to loop diuresis and to identify optimal treatment approaches that utilize anatomic and physiologic measures such as venous ultrasound.

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INTRODUCTION: Upper gastrointestinal stress ulcer formation is a potential risk for critically ill hospitalized patients. Due to this, SUP is an important preventative measure for at risk patients. Stress ulcer medications such as PPIs and H2 blockers do come with potential side effects.1,2 A widely accepted guideline was written by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists which along with similar variations continue to be used today.3,4 One such guideline has been implemented within the Ascension Health System (Figure 1). Despite guidelines, inappropriate administration continues to be a common problem. Studies show rates of inappropriate administration anywhere from 20 to 70 percent.5–9 A discrepancy in knowledge from providers leads to inappropriate prescribing of SUP medications. Administration of these laminated cards will improve appropriate administration of the medications. METHODS: Laminated cards were dispersed to fit on ID badges of IM and FP residents which following the Ascension SUP guidelines. Data was collected on all patients admitted under the core faculty of an IM or FP attending between 7/1/18–9/30/18 and 11/1/18–1/31/19. 10/1/19-10/31/19 constituted the run-in period. Patients were excluded if they had active diagnoses of GERD, PUD, H. Pylori. Eligible patients' charts were reviewed at random by using an online number generator. The A&P section of the H&P note was reviewed to determine if SUP was was appropriately administered, appropriately held, inappropriately administered, or inappropriately held. Any discrepancies were reviewed by the principal investigator. A t-test was performed to determine if statistical significance was achieved. RESULTS: There were 124 and 115 patients in the pre and post-intervention period respectively. There was an overall improvement of 5.64% (P = 0.21) after distribution of cards (Figure 1). Inappropriately given SUP use improved by 5.01% (P = 0.22). Inappropriately held SUP use improved by 0.61% (P = 0.78). CONCLUSION: Administration of cards improved appropriate prescribing. The cards provided a resource to aid in enhancing knowledge and on-the-go decision making. The availability of implementing these guidelines or similar such protocols using EMR may be more effective in reaching a wider audience of physicians and provide a consistent effect on prescribing habits.