The article beginning on page 1623, titled “Recognition and Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,” launches a series of articles from the Department of Family Medicine at Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, Ohio. The guest editors of this “Practical Therapeutics” series are Cynthia G. Olsen, M.D., and Gordon S. Walbroehl, M.D.

Upcoming articles in the series will cover a diversity of topics focusing on innovative ways of approaching patient care. The articles will explore new treatments for old conditions, discuss how to make better use of therapeutic resources and consider behavioral aspects of the therapeutic care of patients, including ways in which family physicians can help patients modify behaviors that affect their health. Topics in the series will include management of panic disorder, symptomatic and psychologic management of the dying patient, prescribing rehabilitation modalities and management of heat injury, hyperlipidemia, acute diarrheal illness and anemia.

This series will reflect the collective experience of the department in teaching, research and providing care to the community. The department has 32 full-time faculty members and separate divisions of research and applied psychology. The university is well-known for its strong clinical education programs and its success in introducing students into family medicine; in 1997, 34 percent of the graduating class entered family medicine. Last year, Wright State University School of Medicine received the Silver Recognition Award through the AAFP's Family Practice Percentage Awards program that recognizes schools with the highest percentages of graduates entering family medicine residencies.

The department emphasizes undergraduate, graduate and faculty involvement in research projects. Current areas of study for student projects include nursing home care and the bereavement and grief process.

The department is involved in a full spectrum of patient care, including intensive care and long-term care. The faculty handles approximately 25,000 patient visits each year, and another 50,000 patients are seen through the residency training program. In 1997, the department won the Oustanding Community Service Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges.