Malcolm Parker

Bio: Malcolm Parker is an academic researcher from University of Queensland. The author has contributed to research in topics: Health law & Medical law. The author has an hindex of 20, co-authored 156 publications receiving 1613 citations. Previous affiliations of Malcolm Parker include Southern Cross University & Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.

Medical school selection criteria and the prediction of academic performance

Abstract: Objective: To assess how well prior academic performance, admission tests, and interviews predict academic performance in a graduate medical school.

Clinical photography in dermatology: ethical and medico-legal considerations in the age of digital and smartphone technology

Abstract: Background/Objective: Clinical photography has long been an important aspect in the management of dermatological pathology and has many applications in contemporary dermatology practice. With the continuous evolution of digital and smartphone technology, clinicians must maintain ethical and medico-legal standards. This article reviews how dermatology trainees are utilising this technology in their clinical practice and what procedures they follow when taking photos of patients. We review the ethical and legal considerations of clinical photography in dermatology and present a hypothetical medico-legal scenario. Methods Dermatology registrars were surveyed on their use of personal smartphones and digital equipment for photographing patients in their clinical practice. Numerous medico-legal providers were approached to provide medico-legal advice about a hypothetical scenario. Conclusions We found that the use of these technologies is prevalent among dermatology registrars and all respondents reported regular use. Clinicians should routinely obtain and document adequate patient consent in relation to clinical photography, utilise strict privacy settings on smartphones and other digital devices and ensure that the images are stored on these devices for minimal periods. Express consent documentation in the clinical file puts the clinician in a more defensible position if a complaint is made to the medical board or privacy commissioner.

Reasons doctors provide futile treatment at the end of life: a qualitative study

Abstract: Objective Futile treatment, which by definition cannot benefit a patient, is undesirable. This research investigated why doctors believe that treatment that they consider to be futile is sometimes provided at the end of a patient's life. Design Semistructured in-depth interviews. Setting Three large tertiary public hospitals in Brisbane, Australia. Participants 96 doctors from emergency, intensive care, palliative care, oncology, renal medicine, internal medicine, respiratory medicine, surgery, cardiology, geriatric medicine and medical administration departments. Participants were recruited using purposive maximum variation sampling. Results Doctors attributed the provision of futile treatment to a wide range of inter-related factors. One was the characteristics of treating doctors, including their orientation towards curative treatment, discomfort or inexperience with death and dying, concerns about legal risk and poor communication skills. Second, the attributes of the patient and family, including their requests or demands for further treatment, prognostic uncertainty and lack of information about patient wishes. Third, there were hospital factors including a high degree of specialisation, the availability of routine tests and interventions, and organisational barriers to diverting a patient from a curative to a palliative pathway. Doctors nominated family or patient request and doctors being locked into a curative role as the main reasons for futile care. Conclusions Doctors believe that a range of factors contribute to the provision of futile treatment. A combination of strategies is necessary to reduce futile treatment, including better training for doctors who treat patients at the end of life, educating the community about the limits of medicine and the need to plan for death and dying, and structural reform at the hospital level.

An ethics core curriculum for Australasian medical Schools.

Abstract: Teaching ethics incorporates teaching of knowledge as well as skills and attitudes. Each of these requires different teaching and assessment methods. A core curriculum of ethics knowledge must address both the foundations of ethics and specific ethical topics. Ethical skills teaching focuses on the development of ethical awareness, moral reasoning, communication and collaborative action skills. Attitudes that are important for medical students to develop include honesty, integrity and trustworthiness, empathy and compassion, respect, and responsibility, as well as critical self-appraisal and commitment to lifelong education.

The impact of advance care planning on end of life care in elderly patients: randomised controlled trial

Abstract: Objective To investigate the impact of advance care planning on end of life care in elderly patients. Design Prospective randomised controlled trial. Setting Single centre study in a university hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Participants 309 legally competent medical inpatients aged 80 or more and followed for six months or until death. Interventions Participants were randomised to receive usual care or usual care plus facilitated advance care planning. Advance care planning aimed to assist patients to reflect on their goals, values, and beliefs; to consider future medical treatment preferences; to appoint a surrogate; and to document their wishes. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was whether a patient’s end of life wishes were known and respected. Other outcomes included patient and family satisfaction with hospital stay and levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in relatives of patients who died. Results 154 of the 309 patients were randomised to advance care planning, 125 (81%) received advance care planning, and 108 (84%) expressed wishes or appointed a surrogate, or both. Of the 56 patients who died by six months, end of life wishes were much more likely to be known and followed in the intervention group (25/29, 86%) compared with the control group (8/27, 30%; P Conclusions Advance care planning improves end of life care and patient and family satisfaction and reduces stress, anxiety, and depression in surviving relatives. Trial registration Australian New Zealand clinical trials registry ACTRN12608000539336.

The conscious mind: In search of a fundamental theory

Abstract: A clutch of '-isms' characterises the approach to consciousness which David Chalmers defends: dualism, epiphenomenalism, functionalism, anti-reductionism, and -probably -panpsychism. (The author would no doubt want 'naturalism' included in the list as well, but as we shall see, Chalmers' predilection to describe his theory as 'scientific' stretches credibility.) While the book does not, as far as I can see, move consciousness research significantly forward, Chalmers succeeds admirably in clarifying the philosophical terrain around and within each of these '-isms' and in questioning the usual assumptions which suggest some of them are mutually exclusive. Because nearly all of what follows is highly critical, I want to be explicit about one thing: I do not think this is a bad book. Throughout, most discussions keep to a very high standard; it's just that they include fatal flaws.

Review Article: Neurobiologic Advances from the Brain Disease Model of Addiction

Abstract: This article reviews scientific advances in the prevention and treatment of substance-use disorder and related developments in public policy. In the past two decades, research has increasingly supported the view that addiction is a disease of the brain. Although the brain disease model of addiction has yielded effective preventive measures, treatment interventions, and public health policies to address substance-use disorders, the underlying concept of substance abuse as a brain disease continues to be questioned, perhaps because the aberrant, impulsive, and compulsive behaviors that are characteristic of addiction have not been clearly tied to neurobiology. Here we review recent advances in the neurobiology of addiction to clarify the link between addiction and brain function and to broaden the understanding of addiction as a brain disease. We review findings on the desensitization of reward circuits, which dampens the ability to feel pleasure and the motivation to pursue everyday activities; the increasing strength of conditioned responses and stress reactivity, which results in increased cravings for alcohol and other drugs and negative emotions when these cravings are not sated; and the weakening of the brain regions involved in executive functions such as decision making, inhibitory control, and self-regulation that leads to repeated relapse. We also review the ways in which social environments, developmental stages, and genetics are intimately linked to and influence vulnerability and recovery. We conclude that neuroscience continues to support the brain disease model of addiction. Neuroscience research in this area not only offers new opportunities for the prevention and treatment of substance addictions and related behavioral addictions (e.g., to food, sex, and gambling) but may also improve our understanding of the fundamental biologic processes involved in voluntary behavioral control. In the United States, 8 to 10% of people 12 years of age or older, or 20 to 22 million people, are addicted to alcohol or other drugs. 1 The abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs in the United States exacts more than $700 billion annually in costs related to crime, lost work productivity, and health care. 2-4 After centuries of efforts to reduce addiction and its related costs by punishing addictive behaviors failed to produce adequate results, recent basic and clinical research has provided clear evidence that addiction might be better considered and treated as an acquired disease of the brain (see Box 1 for definitions of substance-use disorder and addiction). Research guided by the brain disease model of addiction has led to the development of more effective methods of prevention and treatment and to more informed public health policies. Notable examples include the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which requires medical insurance plans to provide the same coverage for substance-use disorders and other mental illnesses that is provided for other illnesses, 5 and the proposed bipartisan Senate legislation that From the National Institute on Drug Abuse (N.D.V.) and the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (G.F.K.) — both in Bethesda, MD; and the Treatment Research Institute, Philadelphia (A.T.M.). Address reprint requests to Dr. Volkow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6001 Executive Bld., Rm. 5274, Bethesda, MD 20892, or at nvolkow@ nida . nih . gov.

Integration of oncology and palliative care: a Lancet Oncology Commission

Abstract: Full integration of oncology and palliative care relies on the specific knowledge and skills of two modes of care: the tumour-directed approach, the main focus of which is on treating the disease; and the host-directed approach, which focuses on the patient with the disease. This Commission addresses how to combine these two paradigms to achieve the best outcome of patient care. Randomised clinical trials on integration of oncology and palliative care point to health gains: improved survival and symptom control, less anxiety and depression, reduced use of futile chemotherapy at the end of life, improved family satisfaction and quality of life, and improved use of health-care resources. Early delivery of patient-directed care by specialist palliative care teams alongside tumour-directed treatment promotes patient-centred care. Systematic assessment and use of patient-reported outcomes and active patient involvement in the decisions about cancer care result in better symptom control, improved physical and mental health, and better use of health-care resources. The absence of international agreements on the content and standards of the organisation, education, and research of palliative care in oncology are major barriers to successful integration. Other barriers include the common misconception that palliative care is end-of-life care only, stigmatisation of death and dying, and insufficient infrastructure and funding. The absence of established priorities might also hinder integration more widely. This Commission proposes the use of standardised care pathways and multidisciplinary teams to promote integration of oncology and palliative care, and calls for changes at the system level to coordinate the activities of professionals, and for the development and implementation of new and improved education programmes, with the overall goal of improving patient care. Integration raises new research questions, all of which contribute to improved clinical care. When and how should palliative care be delivered? What is the optimal model for integrated care? What is the biological and clinical effect of living with advanced cancer for years after diagnosis? Successful integration must challenge the dualistic perspective of either the tumour or the host, and instead focus on a merged approach that places the patient's perspective at the centre. To succeed, integration must be anchored by management and policy makers at all levels of health care, followed by adequate resource allocation, a willingness to prioritise goals and needs, and sustained enthusiasm to help generate support for better integration. This integrated model must be reflected in international and national cancer plans, and be followed by developments of new care models, education and research programmes, all of which should be adapted to the specific cultural contexts within which they are situated. Patient-centred care should be an integrated part of oncology care independent of patient prognosis and treatment intention. To achieve this goal it must be based on changes in professional cultures and priorities in health care.

How effective are selection methods in medical education? A systematic review

Abstract: Acknowledgements the authors thank the UK General Medical Council (GMC) for commissioning an initial rapid review of the literature on selection and widening access to medicine in 2013. Further thanks are due to the UK Medical Schools Council (MSC) for commissioning a significantly updated review of selection methods in 2014, funding for which was provided by Health Education England (HEE) and the Office for Fair Access (OFFA). Working together on both of these projects encouraged us to further develop our ideas and produce an updated systematic review for publication in 2015. We also thank those who contributed to the original project funded by the GMC, notably John McLachlan, Member of the Centre for Medical Education Research, Durham University, and Emma Dunlop, Medical Admissions, University of Aberdeen. Funding funding was provided by HEE and the OFFA.