Physician impairment: physicians' exposure, attitudes, and beliefs

Concern about physician impairment has resulted in increased efforts to educate physicians about its nature and scope. This study reports the results of a survey of how family physicians obtain information about impairment, which sources they value, and how exposure to impairment relates to their attitudes and beliefs. A significant association was found between involvement in group-oriented programs and recognition of risk factors unique to the profession. Important differences were found between physicians who acknowledged the role of personal vulnerability in impairment and those who attributed causality to external sources. Results also revealed that this sample of physicians was almost equally divided on whether impairment should be defined exclusively by professional conduct.