Professional attitudes, in particular patient-centredness, seem to be related to specialty preference in the final year of graduate medical training and specialty as a career choice. It remains unclear whether professional socialization reinforces existing attitudes or whether existing attitudes result in specialty preference.

This article focuses on the attitudinal component of patient-centredness. The literature reveals that the relationship between cure-and care-oriented attitudes remains to be clari®ed. The aim of this study is to gain further insight in the relationship between cure and care attitudes by questioning the bipolar unidimensional structure of the concept. By means of an empirical analysis among Belgian medical students, the cure versus care attitudes regarding the`ideal physician' are investigated. Traits of the ideal physician are described in a bipolar rating scale re¯ecting cure-oriented versus care-oriented views of the medical profession. Subjects included 88 medical students of the Limburgs University Centre in Diepenbeek, Belgium. Results indicate that the Belgian sample is less care-oriented than the Dutch sample.Further, a factor-analysis reveals two components which correspond with the instrumental (cure) and the affective dimension (care) of the medical profession. The advantages of a two-dimensional framework as a basis for the development of courses aimed at attitude development in the curriculum of a medical school are discussed. #

No abstract

Although every lecturer in a department of medical education would endorse the importance of sound medical interviewing the position of courses on this subject is generally unstressed. In the past few years a course has been developed in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University hospital of Utrecht in which special attention is paid to the sort of problems students experience in the initial phase of medical interviewing. Use is made of simulated patients. At the same time attention is given to both the medical and communicative aspects. This approach is specially appreciated by the students. Self assessment shows that they report a considerably enhanced proficiency. Observations and questionnaires show that the students have problems mostly on the emotional level, both in coping with their own emotions and in discussing personal and emotional topics with a patient.

No decrease in humaneness during medical education was detected. Gender differences in professional attitudes were visible. More validation of the scales has to be done.