 Integrating conflicting professional roles: Physician participation in randomized clinical trialsKathryn M. Taylor Social Science & Medicine, 1992, vol. 35, issue 2, 217-224 Abstract: The traditional identification of physicians as either clinician or researcher is challenged by the emergence of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) where research and clinical care are performed simultaneously. A mail survey using a self-administered questionnaire, the Physician Orientation Profile, was conducted of 101 physicians from the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study (COMS), a set of trials which compares surgical removal of the eye with radiation in the treatment of medium sized eye cancers. A 95% response rate was obtained; follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with 87% of respondents. Key findings suggest that RCTs challenge traditional definitions of physician's 'core task,' because they participate in a social process that requires them to integrate the formerly disparate and sometimes competing roles of researcher and clinician. Three implications of this integration are discussed: amending the expert reward system, altering customary clinical practice and redefining reference groups for professional interaction. Keywords: physician; behaviour; randomized; clinical; trials; ocular; melanoma (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:35:y:1992:i:2:p:217-224 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier |
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