A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine asked 1,620 medical students and 739 residents doctors-in-training across the U.S. about their contacts with pharmaceutical companies, finding that roughly half of all students received gifts of some kind. More than half of senior medical students and residents received gifts, which ranged from pens, donuts and pizza to off-campus meals. Nearly 15 percent of seniors had received free drug samples, despite medical students’ lack of a license to prescribe medications.
Austa, K., Avorn, J., Franklin, J., Kowal, M., et al; Changing Interactions Between Physician Trainees and the Pharmaceutical Industry: A National Survey. Journal of General Internal Medicine. August 2013, Volume 28, Issue 8, pp 1064-1071
Of further interest:
For Med Students, Love From the Drug Rep (New York Times)
