Medical News Week

At least, that is the conclusion you would inevitably come to if you read Town Hall on a regular basis. The wesbite that boasts of being the first conservative web community seems to have a yen for anti-atheist propaganda.

For example, here’s Mike Adams in a column entitled, “Understanding Atheism::

If psychologists were really interested in the fair and balanced treatment of religion they would see the obvious connection between cognitive dissonance theory and atheism. And, of course, they would discuss it in their classes in conjunction with the application of Freudian and Skinnerian theories seeking to explain religion away.

I’m afraid that obvious connection was lost on me. Might have helped if Adams had bothered to explain at some point, but he did not. Not only did Adams’ column not help me understand atheism, it didn’t even help me understand his point.

And this column, mind you, was one of the better ones. Here’s Doug Giles explaining what atheism is really all about:

Atheists would love for everyone to believe that their motive for not believing is an intellectual one. Yes, the atheists ardently suppose that they are wise and the Christians, well, we’re the buckle-shoed buttheads.

Yes, darling, the atheists would love all of us to suppose that they cannot believe because they are so astute and rational, and we theists, heck we’re toads . . . a veritable troop of abecedarian simpletons who believe in God and Christ simply because we’re straight goofy.

I think the atheists believe in not believing, however, not because they’re intellectual little dandies but because they want to be autonomous, loose and randy.

There follows a lengthy discourse on how atheists want to be free from responsibility to God so they can indulge their perverse sexual apptetites. Read it for yourself and see if Giles has disabused you of your stereotypes about Christians.

And then there is Dinesh D’Souza, who has dedicated his last three columns to this subject. Here he is reporting on the well-known (to conservatives anyway) academic conspiracy against traditional religious belief:

It seems atheists have developed a comprehensive strategy to win the minds of the next generation. The strategy can be described simply: let the religious people breed them, and we will educate them to despise their parents’ beliefs. Many people think that the secularization of the minds of our young people is the inevitable consequence of learning and maturing. In fact, it is to a large degree orchestrated by teachers and professors to promote anti-religious agendas.

To a large degree? Goodness! But at least we have a clear statement from D’Souza that education is the enemy of religion. Indeed it is.

Reading D’Souza too challenging for you? Then have a go at David Limbaugh’s helpful summary. It contains gems like this:

He also exposes the illogic of atheism’s claim to moral superiority when it can’t even offer a rational explanation for man’s moral component. Nor can atheism explain man’s consciousness. Apart from God, there is no accounting for either conscience or consciousness.

Right. Because consciousness is very mysterious until you hypothesize into existence an even greater and more powerful sort of consciousness to explain it. Makes perfect sense.

Of course, they don’t always attack atheism. Sometimes they go after “Darwinism,” which for them is a synonym for “atheism” I give you Marvin Olasky:

New York Times columnist John Tierney recently offered a materialist version of “intelligent design”: All of us are actually characters in a computer simulation devised by some technologically advanced future civilization.

Fanciful to the extreme, sure, but the growing number of such theories — life comes from the past (Mars, when it was theoretically livable) or future (Tierney) — is one more indication that Darwinism no longer satisfies. Reporters pretending to referee the origin debate used to have it easy: slick evolutionists vs. hick creationists, progress vs. regress. Now, Darwinism is looking fuddy-duddy, and sophisticated critiques of it are becoming more diverse.

A New York Times columnist writes a column describing some amusing thought experiments from a British philosopher, some unspecified person says something about life coming from Mars, and Olasky takes this as evidence that “Darwinism” is no longer satisfying. Strong evidence indeed.

That’s pretty dopey, but just for fun see if you can spot the logical flaw in the following paragraph:

We also have data now from a half-century of careful malaria-watching, which — because malaria reproduce so quickly — lets us see what happens to thousands of generations of parasites that are under constant attack from man-made drugs. Darwin predicted that random mutation and natural selection would lead to the development of new species, but no new kinds of malaria have emerged, just tiny changes in existing strains.

And people say that smoking causes cancer, but that’s nonsense because Joe down the street smoked for fifty years and he never got cancer!

Not wanting to be left out of the party, Michael Medved chimes in with his argument for the proposition that the American Founders wanted to establish a Christian nation, as opposed to a secular nation. Here is an example of his logic:

THE FOUNDERS NEVER “WANTED TO ESTABLISH A SECULAR NATION.” In fact, they repeatedly and insistently averred that the survival of liberty and the prosperity of the United States required a deeply religious society and a populace passionately committed to organized faith. In his Farewell Address of 1797, President Washington (who had also served as presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention) unequivocally declared that “reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle…Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.” His successor as president, John Adams (also known as “The Atlas of Independence”) wrote to his wife Abigail in 1775: “Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.”

Of course, outside of Planet Medved a “secular” nation is one in which religious beliefs and practices are kept separate from the workings of government. Absolutely none of those delightful quotes Medved produces have anything to with that question. If the Founders had intended to create a Christian nation you would expect to find some mention of Christianity in the Constitution. Instead you only find references to not having religious tests for public office, and to Congress passing no law regarding an establishment of religion. Strange way to found a Chirstian nation.

So there you have it. If Town Hall is representative (and they certainly think they are) conservatism is simply equivalent to brain-dead, anti-atheist propaganda. Pretty pathetic.

Source: Conservative Thought = Anti-Atheism Thought [EvolutionBlog]

It’s probably under diagnosed. Here’s a brief discussion in CMAJ.

Source: Neurogenic pulmonary edema

Remember Jeff Gannon?

Category: Media
Posted on: October 29, 2007 12:42 PM, by PZ Myers

I’d almost forgotten, myself. But look, Gannon shows up in the virtual flesh at Denialism to try and defend his record.

Trust me on this, Jeff. You want us to forget your sleazy softball approach to fake journalism. You aren’t helping yourself by reminding us.

Source: Remember Jeff Gannon? [Pharyngula]

I love many different types of fine wines and I recently joined the Wine of the Month club offered at the Amazing Wine Club.com web site. The Amazing Wine Club.com web site features only the finest wines available. There are currently over one hundred thousand satisfied members of the Amazing Wine Club.com web site. There are 4 different subscription options on the Amazing Wine Club.com web site including a 3 month wine club, 6 month wine club, year long 12 month wine club, and seasonal wine club. Wines will be sent to you from the Amazing Wine Club.com web site from Pain, Italy, France, Chile, Australia, Portugal, Argentina, Germany, Napa Valley, and South Africa. All of the wine bottles from the Amazing Wine Club.com web site are standard 750 ml wine bottles of full size and are packaged with preventive material that protects against breakage of the wine bottle or spoilage of the wine. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Please visit the Amazing Wine Club.com web site today for more information.

Source: I love many different types of fine wines

An anonymous donor asks a tricky question, namely:

how apparently successful research faculty … can best make the transition to a small teaching/research institution?

This is a tricky question not only because anything relating to academic jobs is tough, but also because I don’t have a great deal of experience with it. I’ve been in on a bunch of job searches, but we’ve never hired anybody fitting this description. As a result, this is necessarily kind of hypothetical.

I think the key bit of advice is the same for faculty looking to switch instituions as for people looking for thier first academic job: We Are Not Your Safety School.

The very quickest way to get your application folder tossed aside is to mis-state the name of the college in your cover letter. The second quickest is to mis-state the nature of the position. If I’m reading applications for a one-year visiting position, and your cover letter starts off with “I am very excited to apply for the tenure-track job at Onion College,” you’re finished before I ever get to the CV.

The fastest substantive way to get your application put aside is to demonstrate that you’d really prefer to be at a “Reseach I” institution. This is a little more subtle, and shows up in a lot of little ways. If your teaching statement is one page, and your research statement ten, that’s a hint. If your research statement talks about grad students and post-docs as an integral part of your plan, that’s another. If your research program is described in terms that faculty members outside your immediate field can’t follow, that’s a third. If your CV lists lots of graduate seminars under “courses taught” but no intro courses, that’s a fourth.

All of those are things that suggest to the person reading the application that you’re not seeking the job, you’re settling for it. And that suggests that you’re not going to be a good fit for the college.

If you want to be considered seriously for a job at a small liberal arts college, whether you’re coming to it as a newly minted Ph.D. or a research professor changing fields, you need to demonstrate that you know what the job is about, and you really want this sort of job. That involves lots of little things, including but not limited to:

A demonstrated committment to teaching. You don’t have to have won awards, but you need to have taught something, preferably at a low level. If you’re looking for your first job, you want to talk up any TA experience you have; if you’re looking to change from a research institution to one more devoted to teaching, you need to show that you haven’t been ducking students. We don’t expect you to be teaching six lecture courses a year, but you need to have taught undergraduates at some point in there, preferably of your own free will and not because you had the least seniority and got stuck with it.

An understanding of undergraduate research. Student involvement in research is a big point of emphasis for us at the moment, and I think that’s true for a lot of small colleges. If you want a job at a small college, you need to show that you’re willing and able to work with undergraduates.

There are a few different elements to this. The most obvious is to have a track record– if you’ve supervised summer research students, or undergraduate honors theses, talk that up. There’s also the choice and presentation of proposed research projects– if you’re an experimentalist, you can’t propose something that will take five grad students to make it work, and if you’re a theorist, you can’t propose something that requires three years of grad-level mathematics to comprehend. When you write your research statement, it should be comprehensible outside your immediate field (odds are, the hiring committee will include people from other subfields), and should include clear indications of where and how you will be able to involve students.

A lack of condescension. That’s as good a term as I can think of for what I mean here, which is a little nebulous. What I mean is that it’s easy to look at those first two items, and completely overdo it: not just to show willingness to teach introductory classes, but to appear to actively disdain advanced classes; not just to show an understanding of what can be done with undergraduates, but to aim too low with the research proposals.

The point of the previous two items is not to suggest that you abandon all ambition, but that you need to tailor your ambitions appropriately. You need to be willing to teach introductory classes, but if you have ideas for upper-level classes, that’s great, too. If you’ve got ideas for good upper-level classes relating to your research field, you don’t need to abandon them, you just need to convince us that you can make them work with our students. If you’ve got ambitious research goals, you don’t need to abandon them, you just need to convince us that you can make them work here.

And you should be trying to stretch the limits as much as you can, here. Realistic ambition is a good thing– I’d rather see a proposal that looks challenging but would be really cool if it works out than one that’s sure to generate two completely boring papers a year.

Some external evidence of sincerity. This one’s not entirely within your control, but it helps to have something in your recommendation letters that confirms that you’re actively interested in this sort of job, and not just settling for what you think will be an easier life. In our last job search, we had a few candidates with what I think of as “head-scratcher” letters– letters from graduate or post-doctoral advisors saying “Candidate X could get a faculty position at a major university, but for some reason insists on applying to these little liberal arts places, and I can’t understand why.” I think those are great, and they carry more weight with me than a lot of more conventional letters.

Obviously, you can’t ask your references to write exactly that, but if you’re serious about this sort of position, make sure to discuss it in detail with them. You want them to write you a letter that says “X really wants this job,” and not “X is looking to move for family reasons” or “X isn’t going to make it in the big time, but would be a fine hire for you.”

Again, this is largely hypothetical, as I’ve never been part of a job search where we hired such a candidate. And there are ways around any of these items, just as there are for people looking for their first job. A lot of it comes down to personality and fit– your ability to convince the people you’re applying to that you would be the right person for their job.

But as far as the original question goes, that’s what comes to mind.

Source: DonorsChoose Payoff: Changing Categories [Uncertain Principles]

Thallion to Initiate Phase II/III Trial in Europe, South America and Canada

MONTREAL, QUEBEC–(Oct. 29, 2007) - Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX:TLN) today announced that the Company has not yet been able to reach a mutual agreement with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the appropriate clinical trial design and strategy for Shigamabs®, a dual antibody product for the treatment of Shigatoxin-producing E. coli (STEC) bacterial infections. The Company intends to submit the appropriate regulatory documents in Europe, South America and Canada and expects to initiate a Phase II/III trial in these jurisdictions in the first half of 2008.

“After numerous constructive discussions with the FDA, we have not yet been able to reach an agreement on our Shigamabs clinical development strategy in the U.S. Since the pressing need for a treatment for STEC infections is undisputed, we are determined to initiate a pivotal trial and to commercialize Shigamabs as quickly as possible. To this end, we have decided to continue to move forward with our clinical strategy in Europe, Canada and South America as originally planned. Our intent is to set in motion the regulatory submission process in these jurisdictions by the end of the fourth quarter of 2007, which would potentially enable us to initiate a pivotal Phase II/III Shigamabs trial in the first half of 2008,” said Lloyd M. Segal, Chief Executive Officer of Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. “We believe that our existing clinical development plan is appropriate to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of Shigamabs, and we will continue to engage the FDA to resolve the outstanding issues. Our upcoming clinical trial will be designed to accommodate the potential addition of U.S. sites should the Company and the FDA reach a consensus in the future.”

About Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX:TLN) is a biotechnology company developing pharmaceutical products in the areas of infectious disease and oncology. Thallion has three active clinical programs at a Phase II, or later, stage of development which include: Shigamabs®, a dual antibody product for the treatment of Shigatoxin-producing E. coli bacterial infections; ECO-4601, a novel anticancer therapy derived from a nonpathogenic microorganism; and CAP-232, a targeted therapy with potential efficacy in multiple oncology indications. Additional information about the Company can be obtained at www.thallion.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “believe”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, changing market conditions, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the establishment of corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s ongoing filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable Canadian securities laws.

For more information, please contact

Thallion Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Michael Singer
Chief Financial Officer
514-940-3600
514-228-3622 (FAX)
info@thallion.com
www.thallion.com

or

The Equicom Group Inc.
Ross Marshall
Investor Relations
416-815-0700 (Ext. 238)
416-815-0080 (FAX)
rmarshall@equicomgroup.com

Latest Pharma News…

Source: Thallion Provides Update on Shigamabs Clinical Development and U.S. Regulatory Plan

BPR3, or Bloggers for Peer-Reviewed Research Reporting has announced the release of their new icons. For those of you who don’t know what this is all about, it’s pretty simple. When we’re not making up lolcats, and being all super-serious, we want to have a simple way to communicate to the audience that we’re discussing the scientific literature itself. That is, we’re not just reacting to idiotic press releases, poorly-written articles in major newspapers, or the latest misunderstanding of science by some crank. We’re actually reading the science before we pontificate about it.

This should be encouraged. So here are my 6 posts I’ve attached the logo to so far. You may remember some of them.
Promising Embryonic Cell News
Reprogramming Adult Cells into ES cells
Does Smoking Cannabis Cause Schizophrenia?
Again with the Marijuana
Global Warming is a threat to Global Health
A Critical Appraisal of Chronic Lyme

Enjoy! And good work Dave, Mike, John and others for getting this idea up and running.

Source: Bloggers for Peer Reviewed Research [denialism blog]

Student Doctor Network

by Sarah M. Lawrence and Michael O’Brien

Health care is an increasingly diverse field with many different specialties interacting to provide patient care.

The team approach to caring for patients includes many professionals performing a variety of specialized functions designed to meet the physical, emotional and psychological needs of the patient. In the course of just one stay, a hospitalized patient may be cared for by an array of non-MD/DO providers.

For this collaborative approach to work, it is imperative that all health care professionals understand and respect the credentials, scope of practice and function of each member of the health care team.

So who are these providers? This article will provide a brief introduction to the educational background and role of the different professionals a patient might typically encounter in a hospital. This list is by no means inclusive but is meant to be an overview of the major groups of professional practitioners currently found in large, comprehensive hospitals.

The Nurse Practitioner
Nurse practitioners are licensed registered nurses who have completed advanced academic and supervised clinical training beyond their registered nurse certification. Most have masters degrees and many have doctoral degrees. Nurse practitioners provide a number of different health care services. They are trained to diagnose and treat a variety of conditions, and can order and interpret diagnostic tests and procedures, perform health screenings,give immunizations, and may prescribe most medications. Nurse practitioners often focus on health promotion, disease prevention and helping patients make healthy lifestyle choices. They treat patients in outpatient settings and in the hospital. Although most nurse practitioners focus on primary care, many train and practice in fields as diverse as OB/GYN, pediatrics, oncology and dermatology. An NP-C is a nurse practitioner who has successfully completed a national certification exam for adult and family nurse practitioners. Scope of practice and autonomy for nurse practitioners varies state by state with most states requiring nurse practitioners to complete a collaborative care agreement with a physician who provides an specified level of supervision and oversight.

The Doctor of Podiatric Medicine
Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPM’s) earn a bachelors degree and complete four years of podiatric medical school followed by a hospital based residency. Podiatrists are represented in private practice, on hospital medical staffs, in health care administration, on medical school faculties and in the armed forces. Doctors of Podiatric Medicine are experts at preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders of the foot, ankle and related structures. DPM scope of practice varies by state but is generally restricted to the foot, ankle or sometimes other lower extremity structures. They provide medical, surgical and pharmacological treatments for a variety of foot conditions including diabetic foot care, sports injuries, wound care and congenital abnormalities. Most states allow DPMs to prescribe a full complement of medications used to treat conditions related to the foot and ankle.

The Clinical Nurse Specialist
Clinical nurse specialists are licensed registered nurses who have additional training in nursing at the masters or doctoral level. Clinical nurse specialists are experts in a specialized area of nursing practice such as geriatrics, wound care or psychiatric care. Many also work as administrators, educators, consultants or case managers. In addition to providing direct patient care, clinical nurse specialists may work to improve patient outcomes through research, training and bringing about improvements in health care delivery.

The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are registered nurses who have a masters and advanced training in anesthesia. Their clinical and classroom training lasts for 24-36 months and all graduates must pass a national certification examination. CRNAs provide anesthetics to patients in every type of practice setting, and are the main anesthesia providers in two-thirds of all rural hospitals. They provide anesthesia in collaboration with other health care professionals such as surgeons, dentists, podiatrists and anesthesiologists. They utilize a variety of anesthesia techniques and procedures for all types of surgery and obstetrics. As with other nurse practitioners, requirements for physician supervision of CRNAs vary by state.

The Certified Nurse-Midwife
Certified nurse-midwives (CNM’s) are registered nurses who have been trained in midwifery. All have at least a bachelors degree and over 70% hold a masters degree or higher. They must pass a national certification exam in order to be licensed to practice. Certified nurse-midwives provide health care for women including: prenatal care, labor and delivery, post-partum care, routine gynecological services, family planning, menopausal care, health promotion and disease prevention. Most certified nurse midwives work in group practices with physicians and deliver babies in birthing centers or hospitals. CNMs can order and interpret laboratory tests and are able to prescribe most medications.

The Registered Dietitian
Registered dietitians have earned a bachelors degree in dietetics or nutrition with coursework that meets the requirements set forth by the American Dietetic Association. Dietitians complete an approved practical education program and must pass a national examination. The dietitian is the food and nutrition expert on the health care team. Dietitians help design food plans and educate and counsel patients to help them manage disease states such as obesity, high cholesterol, or heart disease. Many dietitians specialize in areas such as pediatrics, geriatrics, renal disease or diabetes education. Dietitians are also involved in hospital food service management and clinical research.

The Recreation Therapist
Recreation Therapists have at least a bachelor’s degree with coursework in the sciences and in recreation theory, have completed a formal internship and must pass a national certification examination. Recreation Therapists provide a wide range of interventions and therapy designed to improve patients’ functioning and keep them as healthy, active and independent as possible. Recreation therapists incorporate patients’ specific interests into therapeutic activites to help the patient develop and maintain skills for daily living and promote physical, emotional, and social well-being. Recreation therapists work with clients of all ages and disease states.

The Audiologist
Audiologists hold a master’s or doctoral degree from an accredited university-based graduate program. They can be found working in medical centers, hospitals, private practice, in schools and in government health facilities. Audiologists are primary care providers for hearing health. They assess hearing and balance problems using a variety of specialized auditory and vestibular assessments. Based upon the diagnosis, the audiologist can offer a patient a variety of treatment options including hearing aids. Audiologists are trained to manage hearing health for newborn through elderly patients. When a patient’s hearing or balance problems require medical or surgical evaluation or treatment, audiologists are trained to make referrals to physicians for intervention.

The Physician Assistant
Physician Assistants (or simply “PA’s”) are licensed health care providers who typically possess a bachelor’s degree and have completed a 24-26 month PA training program. They work alongside physicians to perform physical examinations, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret diagnostic tests, prescribe medication, and assist in surgery. PA’s are found in virtually all medical specialties, ranging from Family Medicine to each of the surgical subspecialties.

The Pharmacist
Pharmacists earn the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree after completing at least two years of undergraduate study and four years of pharmacy school. They put this knowledge to work for you, doing much more than merely counting pills. Pharmacists are the ultimate authority on medication, working with your physician (or PA) to ensure new prescriptions will not interact with your current medications, that you have the right dosage for a particular medication, and to answer any questions you may have. Pharmacists employed within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have the authority to prescribe and change medications under collaborative care agreements with patients’ physicians. Pharmacist prescriptive authority was pioneered in the VA but is becoming more widespread as the benefits of having pharmacists involved in disease state management become more apparent. Additionally, pharmacists can complete postgraduate residency training to become a Critical Care Pharmacist working in the ICU, an Emergency Pharmacist in the Emergency Department, or a number of other possible specialties.

The Clinical Psychologist
Psychologists study the inner workings of the mind. A clinical psychologist’s aim is to reduce psychological and emotional distress and to promote emotional well-being. They often work in hospitals, clinics, or private practice settings. They work with individuals suffering from mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, adjustment to physical illness, neurological disorders, addictions, or behavioral disorders. Clinical psychologists complete four to five years of doctoral level training and must complete a clinical internship prior to licensure.

The Speech and Language Pathologist
Speech and Language Pathologists evaluate, diagnose, and treat language, speech, or swallowing difficulties in patients in various settings. Education and licensure requirements vary by state, but virtually all Speech and Language Pathologists have completed a graduate degree and a clinical fellowship. They can be found in an array of settings, working with individuals suffering from mental impairments, recovering from strokes, or require rehabilitation therapy.

The Occupational Therapist
Occupational Therapists work with individuals of all demographics regain, master, or develop the everyday skills that enable them to lead fulfilling, independent lives. OT’s possess a graduate level degree in occupational therapy. They develop activities of daily living for individuals with mental or physical disabilities that inhibit their capacity to function independently. With time, routines may be developed which help equip these patients to pursue education and employment. OT’s are most frequently found in the hospital or outpatient rehabilitation setting.

The Physical Therapist
Similar to OT’s, a Physical Therapist works to treat individuals whose medical problems or other health-related conditions that impair their ability to move and perform activities of daily living. Treatment plans focus on preventing further disability, alleviating pain, and restoring function. Educational programs for PT’s exist at both the master’s and doctoral level.

The Respiratory Therapist
Respiratory Therapists help evaluate and treat individuals suffering from respiratory ailments, injuries that involve the respiratory tract, need pulmonary rehabilitation, or who require augmented or mechanical ventilation. They are all graduates of an approved college program in Respiratory Therapy, have completed their licensure requirements, and passed a nationally-administered advanced practice examination. RT’s practice primarily in the hospital and long-term care settings, where they are an integral member of the patient care team.

The future of health care lies in successful collaboration among all of these disciplines. It is essential for medical and other health professional students learn how to work with other clinicians in hospitals and other practice sites. Each of these professionals brings a unique skill set and viewpoint to the management of patient care. An environment of mutual respect and trust among health care providers will promote excellent care and improve patient outcomes.

References
American Academy of Physician Assistants - www.aapa.org
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners - www.aanp.org
American Academy of Audiology - www.audiology.org
American Occupational Therapy Association - www.aota.org
American Pharmacist’s Association - www.pharmacist.com
American Podiatric Medical Association - www.apma.org
American Psychological Association - www.apa.org
American Association for Respiratory Care - www.aarc.org
American Therapeutic Recreation Association - http://www.atra-tr.org/about.htm
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association - www.asha.org
American Dietetic Association - www.eatright.org
National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists - www.nacns.org
American College of Nurse-Midwives - www.acnm.org
American Association of Nurse Anesthestists - www.aana.com

Source: Who’s Who on the Health Care Team: An Interdisciplinary Approach