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  • Title: Professional education and the control of the venereal diseases.
    Author: Webster B.
    Journal: Med Clin North Am; 1972 Sep; 56(5):1101-4. PubMed ID: 5068523.
    Abstract:
    Although practicing physicians treat 80% of cases of venereal disease (VD) in the US, the teaching of VD control has almost disappeared from the medical schools. With the advent of penicillin treatment for syphilis, the medical profession became complacent about the dangers of syphilis, it was relegated to a minor position in medical school curricula, and federal budgets for VD control declined sharply. These factors, along with the decrease of infectious cases, brought about a general loss of interest, particularly in research and teaching. In many cases the physician undertaking VD treatment has not been prepared to do so. A 1965 survey receiving 450 replies from 76 countries indicated that an average of 17.1 hours were spent on VD when it was treated as a separate subject while 25.6 hours were spent when it was combined with another subject, usually dermatology, preventive medicine, or urology. Public health and epidemiological aspects apparently received little attention. Letters accompanying the survey replies, however, indicated a great interest in the problem and need for assistance. In an effort to promote the teaching of VD control, a demonstration project was established in the Department of Medicine at the New York Hospital and Cornell University Medical College with the assistance of the VD Control branch of the Centers for Disease Control. During 1971, 555 new cases of syphilis were studied, including 4 of neurosyphilis, 4 of cardiovascular syphilis, and 40 of syphilis in pregnancy. Close liaison is maintained with the Department of Infectious Diseases at the hospital, and the assistant residents and elective students rotate through the clinic. A contact investigator from the New York City Department of Health is assigned part time to the clinic, and students and residents participate in the investigations. Group discussions are held with residents of various other departments, especially medicine, obstetrics, and dermatology. The pilot project indicates that with a relatively small teaching grant, an active syphilis teaching program can be maintained in a university hospital. Educational materials describing proper diagnosis and treatment of VD should be made available to practicing physicians through state and county medical societies.
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