Medical Education - Page 18
3. learn to be receptive to new concepts while
at the same time being reserved in
making definitive judgments, since not all that
appears logical is proved correct
in the end;
4. learn to develop a genuine interest in
finding out more about people and the best
ways to care for them as
individuals;
5. learn to use one's imagination and not be
overwhelmed by the mountain of
information ingested;
6. learn how to acquire a serviceable foundation
in the biomedical sciences during
the preclinical years and how to secure
additional information in each area
when needed;
7. learn how to attain a secure knowledge base
during the clinical years upon
which to build during postgraduate
training;
8. learn to accept the fact that practicing
medicine requires some personal sacrifice
in terms of one's private life, time off, and
in other areas;
9. learn that one's goals are not only to
acquire knowledge and skill, but also to
retain an interest in society and the world;
and
10. learn to accept the fact that medicine is a
continual challenge and that it brings
with it both the joy of triumph and the sorrow
of defeat.
THE MAKING OF A PHYSICIAN
The premedical and medical school preparation
and training intervals usually extend
over an eight-year period. During this time,
the student is, for the most part, preoccupied
with coursework and then clinical training. The
concerns are essentially with the
mechanics of climbing from one rung to the next
on the ladder of professional status.
Little time is thus available to reflect upon
the nature of the nonacademic aspects of
medical education and medical practice,
although these may be subtly realized as one
journeys along the educational route. By
enunciating them at this point and bringing
them to the attention of prospective
physicians, the metamorphosis from layperson to
healer may be better understood and
appreciated.
Two fundamental interpersonal characteristics
must be understood to develop a
proper perspective about the practice of
medicine.
Physician-Patient Relationship
The basic strength of medicine has been, and
undoubtedly will remain, the highly per-
sonalized one-to-one relationship between the
patient and the physician. It involves
establishing and maintaining a bond of trust
and faith between an individual in pain and
the doctor selected to diagnose and cure, or at
least alleviate, the suffering. The interac-
tion between these two human beings seeking a
common goal is the cornerstone of the
practice of medicine. Maintaining this unique
interpersonal bond between patient and
doctor, even if other members of the health
team are interposed in the diagnostic and
therapeutic phases, is one of the most
essential elements of medical practice.
Physician-Patient Responsibility
The second key element in the care of, as well
as in caring about, the patient is provid-
ing appropriate care. The trust placed in the
hands of a physician needs to be recipro-
cated by his or her genuine concern for the
patient. This involves the proper application
of both the science and the art of medicine so
that one achieves the goal of the mainte-
nance of health, or easing of
pain.
To meet one's responsibilities as a physician
involves absorbing and assimilating a
sound basis in human biology and acquiring and
maintaining a high level of clinical
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