ABSTRACT
Physicians and medical students with healthy personal habits more consistently report counseling their own patients about these habits. Researchers have documented a consistent, positive relationship between physicians’ and patients’ preventive health practices. Women physicians were more unlikely than other women of high socioeconomic status to smoke. The few physicians (3.7%) who did smoke reported consuming fewer cigarettes per day than other women, and the physicians who had ceased to smoke reported quitting at a younger age than women in the general population. Studies have shown that 90% of Canadian physicians are in good health, and 66% are in very good health. The class of 2003 at Emory University School of Medicine was extensively studied after various interventions were performed throughout their schooling. North American physicians generally report significantly better exercise habits when compared to their same-age peer groups, which in turn highly correlates with positive mental and physical health outcomes not only for the physicians but also for their patients.
