Medical students and residents need to develop advanced communication techniques for having end-of-life discussions with patients.

Increased awareness and improvement in access are needed in order to alleviate the racial disparities that exist with regard to the underutilization of hospice care by African Americans and other ethnic populations.

Physicians should develop a specific strategy for talking to relatively healthy patients about their CPR preferences in the event they become seriously ill in the future.

The practice of informed consent has played a critical role in the evolution of the use of isotretinoin therapy and appropriate warning labels.

A physician discusses the trend toward medical students selecting medical specialties based on the lifestyle they provide.

A physician argues that pharmaceutical industry support for residency programs creates a conflict of interest and compromises the educational integrity of the programs.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's book The Birthmark is examined along with the current medical ramifications of the morals and lessons found within the story.

Stanford University Medical School established a positive partnership with a pharmaceutical company to offer an industry-sponsored resident elective course in a way that minimizes conflict of interest and has been accepted by the ACGME.

The basic guidelines for identifying a cutaneous melanoma are outlined.

Two physicians give an overview of the iPledge program and discuss the problematic aspects of the program for physicians who prescribe isotretinoin and their patients.