Recently the SPHP has shifted its emphasis. Part of our educational goal is to try and talk about prevention rather than just educating about recognition and treatment. This means helping make physicians, spouses and other professionals aware of the stresses in their daily lives and helping them find ways to cope in a positive fashion. Thus, the content of several papers in this issue of WMJ . We also continue to pursue our traditional role, which we see as four-fold involving education, intervention, advocacy and financial assistance.
Education is focused primarily on the health care professions.
It is important, in addition to teaching people how to deal with stress constructively, to make them aware of physician impairment and to teach them how to recognize it. It is also important for physicians, and other audiences, to hear the good news that most impaired physicians can be rehabilitated and returned to a successful and rewarding practice. Intervention is also offered as part of our program. In addition to advising hospital medical staffs, individual physicians, hospital administrators, clinic administrators and others on how to intervene, we also offer them the ability to refer people to our program. After a review of the information available, when appropriate, our Medical Director and other members of our Managing Committee will directly intervene with the involved physician.