Ethical Issues Concerning the Relationship between Medical Students/Residents and the Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

The pharmaceutical industry interacts with the medical profession by supporting clinical research and assisting in medical education activities in academic medical centers. Medical students and residents spend years establishing patterns of prescribing and making relationships with pharmaceutical companies. The pharmaceutical industry has a significant presence during residency training, gaining the overall acceptance of trainees, and appears to influence prescribing behavior. Contact with pharmaceutical representatives is common among medical students and residents. Residents acknowledge the potential for industry influence in others, but generally not in themselves, despite evidence that they themselves are influenced as well. The prescriptions written by residents are associated with pharmaceutical representative visits and the availability of samples. A variety of policy and educational guidelines appear to influence residents’ attitudes toward interactions with industry representatives, although data on the long-term effects of these interventions are limited. This article contends that medical training programs can benefit from policies and curricula that teach medical students and residents about the influence of marketing and how to critically evaluate the information they receive from industry representatives.

Attitudes of medical students on conflict of interest: A comparative study of Korea and France

“…Medical students, interns and residents (hereafter referred to as “students”) are potential marketing targets for pharmaceutical companies because established prescribing habits are not easily altered [ 3 ].…”