Relationships between drug company representatives and medical students: medical school policies and attitudes of student affairs deans and third-year medical students.
OBJECTIVE
The authors sought to ascertain the details of medical school policies about relationships between drug companies and medical students as well as student affairs deans' attitudes about these interactions.


METHODS
In 2005, the authors surveyed deans and student affairs deans at all U.S. medical schools and asked whether their schools had a policy about relationships between drug companies and medical students. They asked deans at schools with policies to summarize them, queried student affairs deans regarding their attitudes about gifts, and compared their attitudes with those of students who were studied previously.


RESULTS
Independently of each other, 114 out of 126 deans (90.5%) and 114 out of 126 student affairs deans (90.5%) responded (identical numbers are not misprints). Ten schools had a policy regarding relationships between medical students and drug company representatives. Student affairs deans were much more likely than students to perceive that gifts were inappropriate.


CONCLUSIONS
These 2005 policies show trends meriting review by current medical schools in considering how to comply with the 2008 Association of American Medical Colleges recommendations about relationships between drug companies and medical students or physicians.
Sierles
Frederick
F
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science/The Chicago Medical School, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA. frederick.sierles@rosalindfranklin.edu
Brodkey
Amy
A
Cleary
Lynn
L
McCurdy
Frederick A
FA
Mintz
Matthew
M
Frank
Julia
J
Lynn
Deborah Joanne
DJ
Chao
Jason
J
Morgenstern
Bruce
B
Shore
William
W
Woodard
John
J
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000941:ethics; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D003625:Data Collection; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000941:ethics*; D004992:Ethics, Medical / Q000193:education; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000941:ethics; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations / Q000941:ethics*; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000941:ethics*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States