A recent New York Times article pointed out that over 50% of Internal Medicine Residency Programs accepted financial support from drug companies. I thought this might have the seeds of a scandal so I looked into it a bit more.
I was disappointed. No potential Pulitzer Prize here. It seems that it was a fairly old study to begin with…circa 2006-2007. And, truth be told, the percentage of programs accepting any form of subsidy was down from 88 percent back in 1990.
Now, understand, we are not talking stipends or cash payments to students. We are probably in the area here of fountain pens, pocket protectors and free eats. I’m sure that Bic pens and lasagna could impact the judgment of a professional that has spent three years in medical school and another three years in Residency and is probably a couple hundred grand in debt.
It would appear that the most insidious area of drug industry influence peddling is in providing free meals at meetings, seminars and all day classes. Residents questioned indicated that they appreciated the perks, particularly the chow. “You can always tell when a sponsor is popping for the spread and when the residency program manager is footing the bill. Personally, most of us would choose the Chicken Marcella and Beef Stroganoff over the well balanced, sensible, nutritionally balanced rations produced in-house.”
Well guys, what can I say, suck it up. It is a small price to pay, keeping you from the clutches of the pharmaceutical industry. There will be time enough for that after you set yourself up in practice and get to know those nice young men and lovely ladies in suits who visit once a week with gifts and invitations to do lunch.
Beware Romulans bearing gifts. - Cmdr. Leonard McCoy
