pamela and quincy

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pamela and quincy

by daretodream » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:13 pm
Pamela: Physicians training for a medical specialty serve as resident staff physicians in hospitals. They work such long hours-up to 36 consecutive hours-that fatigue impairs their ability to make the best medical decisions during the final portion of their shifts.

Quincy: Thousands of physicians now practicing have been trained according to the same regimen, and records show they generally made good medical decisions during their training periods. Why should what has worked in the past be changed now?

Which one of the following, if true, is the most effective counter Pamela might make to Quincy's argument?

(A) The basic responsibilities of resident staff physicians in hospitals have not changed substantially over the past few decades.
(B) Because medical reimbursement policies now pay for less recuperation time in hospitals, patients in hospitals are, on the average, more seriously ill during their stay than in the past.
(C) It is important that emergency-room patients receive continuity of physician care, insofar as possible, over the critical period after admission, generally 24 hours.
(D) The load of work on resident physicians-in-training varies according to the medical specialty for which each is being trained.
(E) The training of physicians should include observation and recognition of the signs indicating a hospitalized patient's progress or decline over a period of at least 36 hours
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by komal » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:34 pm
daretodream wrote:Pamela: Physicians training for a medical specialty serve as resident staff physicians in hospitals. They work such long hours-up to 36 consecutive hours-that fatigue impairs their ability to make the best medical decisions during the final portion of their shifts.

Quincy: Thousands of physicians now practicing have been trained according to the same regimen, and records show they generally made good medical decisions during their training periods. Why should what has worked in the past be changed now?

Which one of the following, if true, is the most effective counter Pamela might make to Quincy's argument?

(A) The basic responsibilities of resident staff physicians in hospitals have not changed substantially over the past few decades.
Incorrect : It does not talk about changes that necessary now

(B) Because medical reimbursement policies now pay for less recuperation time in hospitals, patients in hospitals are, on the average, more seriously ill during their stay than in the past.
Correct : This provides a reason when it becomes necessary to make best medical decisions since patients in hospitals are, on average, more seriously ill.

(C) It is important that emergency-room patients receive continuity of physician care, insofar as possible, over the critical period after admission, generally 24 hours.
Incorrect : Clearly out of scope

(D) The load of work on resident physicians-in-training varies according to the medical specialty for which each is being trained.
Incorrect : It does not answer the quincy's question 'Why should what has worked in the past be changed now?'

(E) The training of physicians should include observation and recognition of the signs indicating a hospitalized patient's progress or decline over a period of at least 36 hours
Incorrect : Irrelevant.
Last edited by komal on Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by thephoenix » Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:48 am
(A) The basic responsibilities of resident staff physicians in hospitals have not changed substantially over the past few decades -->no impact

(B) Because medical reimbursement policies now pay for less recuperation time in hospitals, patients in hospitals are, on the average, more seriously ill during their stay than in the past -->HOLD IT

(C) It is important that emergency-room patients receive continuity of physician care, insofar as possible, over the critical period after admission, generally 24 hours
-->seems attractive, however, physicians here can be official physicians, not only trained physicians, therefore it's not a strong weaken. Besides, trained physicians can't only make the best medical decision at the final portion of 36hours, while here is only 24hours emergency patients need care of physicians, so wrong

(D) The load of work on resident physicians-in-training varies according to the medical specialty for which each is being trained
--> irrelevant

(E) The training of physicians should include observation and recognition of the signs indicating a hospitalized patient's progress or decline over a period of at least 36 hours
-->HOLD IT

NOW B/N b and e
i will go for B

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by kevincanspain » Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:59 am
I think that if D is true, there may well be some specialities in which the trainees experience greater than average levels of fatigue and thus make more mistakes than the population of trainees. I am always suspicious of arguments based on what is generally true or on overall statistics. If 98% of the first-grade students in a given state have passed an achievement test, is it logical to conclude that all 5th grade teachers are competent? I would choose D
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