Jacksonville – Dr. Jill Compton, Assistant Professor of Psychology at MacMurray College, recently attended the 114th annual convention of the American Psychological Association. The conference was held August 10 – 13 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

      Dr. Compton presented research pertaining to the physician-patient relationship. In her presentation, entitled “Women’s Scripts for Medical Encounters: Conflicts in Expectations and Desires,” Dr. Compton shared some of the results from her dissertation research, which was supported by a dissertation grant from the Department of Psychology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

    According to Dr. Compton, “This portion of my results discusses the incongruities between what the women in my study told me they wanted from their physician, and what they were willing or prepared to do to get that. Generally, women appreciated being involved in information sharing and decision making with their physicians.

     Upon inspection of what the women expected to transpire when they visited their doctors, however, many of the women assumed that they would not need to ask the physician any questions, and most of them did not know how to tell their physician that they disagreed with a treatment plan.”

     Dr. Compton pointed out that this incongruity could be quite significant in understanding important outcomes, such as patient satisfaction, adherence to treatment, and even malpractice rates. She intends to do further research in this area.

     Dr. Compton received her Ph.D. in psychology with a concentration in experimental psychology from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She graduated with a B.A. in psychology and liberal studies from Maryville University of St. Louis in 1999. From the fall of 2000 until the summer of 2004, Dr. Compton taught part-time as an instructor at the University of Tennessee while working on her Ph.D. She taught both Psychology and Women’s Studies courses and came to MacMurray in the fall of 2004 as an instructor. With the completion of her degree, she was promoted to Assistant Professor of Psychology.

Located in Jacksonville, Ill., MacMurray College is a private, four-year, liberal arts, coeducational college, founded in 1846, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Its friendly, informal environment stresses academic excellence, personal attention, career experience, and well-rounded development of each individual.