Life in Medicine: Becoming and Being a Doctor

Life in medicine: Becoming and being a doctor Name: Instructor: Institution: Date: Introduction Recognized as one of the most highly regarded and prestigious profession, medicine is not for the faint of heart. To be a physician, one must be accepted into a medical school and possess the grit it takes to withstand the challenging curriculum. But what does it take to succeed as a doctor? What makes a good doctor? Although there are thousands of answers to this question, curriculum changes over time, computerization of medical records, globalization of medicine culture, and establishment of regulating agencies have influenced physicians to adhere to high standards of healthcare practice. Despite Electronic Health Records (EHRs), having succeeded in enhancing accountability among physicians, simplifying their user interface allows doctors to interact more with patients rather than focusing on their computer screens. Similarly, reducing working hours, establishing physical activity programs, and encouraging doctors to speak in layman's terms enhance the delivery of healthcare while also improving the health of physicians. Some of the changes occurring within the healthcare industry have threatened the position of physicians. However, the continuous advancement in technology will enhance doctors' ability to tackle healthcare problems. Factors that have influenced physician to be "good" doctors * Curriculum changes Physicians can only be regarded as good doctors if they have the ability to collect medical, social, human, and spiritual information that contributes to the treatment of patients. Curriculum reforms implemented since the1900s have been significant in instilling data gathering and practical skills in physicians. During the civil war era, medical education in the United States was offered by for-profit proprietary schools, and content was mainly delivered in didactic form. However, in the early 1900s, the Flexner and Prichett report (1910) introduced a system where the emphasis on textbooks and lectures was replaced by clinical and laboratory teaching. This step moved medical education from a system that relies on memorization to a procedural system, using sound scientific information to treat patients. Between the two world wars, undergraduate medical education was further enhanced by dividing it into 2 phases; first preclinical studies are undertaken in the first two years while clinical rotation in various specialties is undertaken in the second two years. Among the changes introduced during curriculum development were Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in the 1970s and Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) in 1981. Both PBL and EBM influence physicians to be good doctors by ensuring that their "selection of medical therapies relies less on institution anecdotal evidence and more on medical therapies that have been tested and determined to be effective in scientific research" (CH9, 207). Rather than just recognizing the core function of physicians to be the diagnosis and treatment of patients, curriculum reforms fit the physical process of performing these functions into the consultation and overall care of patients. Consequently, the analytical reasoning and methods used by physicians have been enhanced, thus turning them into good do...