Rethinking the Use of Physicians as Hired Expert Lecturers
Authors: Kaenat Mulla, Adebusola Shonubi, Dev Katarey
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2015)

Letters17 February 2015Rethinking the Use of Physicians as Hired Expert LecturersKaenat Mulla, Adebusola Shonubi, iBSc, and Dev Katarey, BMBS, MScKaenat MullaFrom St. George's University of London, London, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this author, Adebusola Shonubi, iBScFrom St. George's University of London, London, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this author, and Dev Katarey, BMBS, MScFrom St. George's University of London, London, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L15-5052-2 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:GlaxoSmithKline is an internationally renowned pharmaceutical agency, and we believe that their recent decision to discontinue hiring physicians as expert lecturers as described in Avorn's commentary (1) has significant consequences. The author presumes that physicians' desire to lecture is due to the monetary reward. However, a study of senior Norwegian medical students found that only 17.5% had a positive attitude toward the pharmaceutical industry, and most said that they would decline monetary gifts (2). This study shows that the new generation of physicians is less influenced by a drug company's monetary offers than previous generations. Therefore, GSK's ...References1. Avorn J. Rethinking the use of physicians as hired expert lecturers. Ann Intern Med. 2014;161:363-4. [PMID: 25178570] doi:10.7326/M14-0847 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Lea D, Spigset O, Slørdal L. Norwegian medical students' attitudes towards the pharmaceutical industry. Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2010;66:727-33. [PMID: 20300742] doi:10.1007/s00228-010-0805-6 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. O'Brien MA, Rogers S, Jamtvedt G, Oxman AD, Odgaard-Jensen J, Kristoffersen DT, et al. Educational outreach visits: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007:CD000409. [PMID: 17943742] MedlineGoogle Scholar4. Yousif MA, Eldalo AS, Abd Allah MA, Al-Sawat MA, Al-Wahaibi HM, Al-Osaimi AA, et al. Pharmacy education instruction: Preference and practices, Saudi students' perception. Saudi Pharm J. 2014;22:309-14. [PMID: 25161374] doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2013.06.005 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Stojan JN, Schiller JH, Mullan P, Fitzgerald JT, Christner J, Ross PT, et al. Medical school handoff education improves postgraduate trainee performance and confidence. Med Teach. 2014:1-8. [PMID: 25155969] MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Kaenat Mulla; Adebusola Shonubi, iBSc; Dev Katarey, BMBS, MScAffiliations: From St. George's University of London, London, United Kingdom.Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterest Forms.do?msNum=L14-0571. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoRethinking the Use of Physicians as Hired Expert Lecturers Jerry Avorn Rethinking the Use of Physicians as Hired Expert Lecturers Marc B. Garnick and Wendy Balter Rethinking the Use of Physicians as Hired Expert Lecturers Abrar Khan Rethinking the Use of Physicians as Hired Expert Lecturers Jerry Avorn Metrics 17 February 2015Volume 162, Issue 4Page: 321KeywordsConflicts of interestDisclosureDrugsForecasting ePublished: 17 February 2015 Issue Published: 17 February 2015 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2015 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...