The polarizing subject of abortion and reproductive rights doesn’t make for easy idle chatter. Despite the frequency of the procedure, abortion is taboo (except on Twitter, as Penelope Trunk taught us last month). But civil discourse on the subject, as with any issue, is neces-sary and good. In that spirit, contributor Beth Rogers brings us an update on what training medical students receive on abortion, both the procedure itself and the topic in general. Her feature begins on page 16.
On the other end of the conversational convenience spectrum: TV and its portrayal of medicine. No matter what your opinion of Drs. House, Spaceman, Weaver or Welby—even if you don’t own a TV on principle—it’s usually a safe conversation to be had with colleagues. You’ll find some opening points in Steve Woo’s feature, beginning on page 10.
If you don’t have time for such mindless escapes because of academic stress, take a moment to read about how some schools seek to balance pass-fail grading systems with concerns about
students’ residency matching. Premeds, you’ll want to read up on those systems as well. The details of how a medical school evaluates its students might get lost in your selection process, but those details might have significant impact on your future practice.
We’ve covered the topic of developing professionalism among future physicians, but Dr. Steven Lowenstein brings us an otherwise untouched angle: How can faculty be held to the same standard? See his perspective on page 31.
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