Role Models — Guiding the Future of Medicine

Skeff, Kelley M.; Mutha, Sunita

doi:10.1056/nejm199812313392710

Cited by 75 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A committed leadership is essential 15,18,20 . In order for change to occur, those in authority must be prepared to take the long view, Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and wellbeing.…”

Section: A Committed Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Professional attitudes: can they be taught and assessed in medical education?

2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-The medical profession is under increasing scrutiny with regard to the undesirable attitudes and behaviours of some of its members. Despite the setting of objectives for professional attitudes, it remains unclear how these can be taught and assessed. Having defined 'attitudes' , we consider some of the influences upon the development of professional attitudes within medicine. We then review possible ways of encouraging desirable attitudes and behaviours. Finally, we review and critique the main types of attitude assessment. We conclude that attitudes are complex, that the influence of medical culture is crucial, and that feasible assessment tools have yet to be developed. Key words: assessment, CPD, General MedicalCouncil, medical education, professional attitudes.The performance of doctors has come under increasing scrutiny in both the USA and the UK. This reflects the public's concern over what are perceived to be the inappropriate attitudes and behaviours of some members of the profession, together with an apparent lack of accountability. Sir Donald Irvine, President of the UK's General Medical Council (GMC), has called for a 'new professionalism' and has highlighted the fact that 'the public's unfulfilled expectations of doctors are crucially about attitudes' 1 . Similarly, in the USA, the definition of a profession (attributed to Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandels) stresses altruistic attitudes: 'A profession … cherishes performance … above personal rewards' 2 .How can medical students and doctors be encouraged to develop desirable attitudes? In the UK, medical schools have been revising their curricula in response to the recommendations published by the GMC in Tomorrow's doctors 3 . For the first time, the GMC has presented UK medical schools with a list of 'attitudinal objectives' that students are expected to have acquired and demonstrated by the time they graduate (Table 1). At postgraduate level, the GMC has published Good medical practice 4 , which contains a list of 14 'duties of a doctor' which are similar to, but not exactly the same as, the undergraduate attitudinal objectives ( Table 2). The GMC's approach to attitudes is not new. It mirrors aspects of 'the ideal internist' , a concept first put forward by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in the 1970s 5 . More recently, the importance of attitudes has been reiterated in the USA in the form of learning objectives for medical student education. These have been proposed both by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 6 and by a collaboration of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM), the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) and the Division of Medicine at the US Department of Health and Human Services 7 . How are these objectives to be taught and assessed? At a conference organised by the GMC in 1997 it was acknowledged that 'the teaching and assessment of professional attitudes was proving to be the most difficult element of the new guidance' 8 , and the AAMC concluded that 'universally agre...

show abstract

Section: A Committed Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other writers also suggest that the influence of role models is powerful 20,37,51 and should be further explored in this context, particularly for those with attitudinal problems 12 .…”

Section: An 'Education Community'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional attitudes: can they be taught and assessed in medical education?

2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Others have also noted that empathy is weakened in medical students due to the lack of role models who exemplify the positive role of empathy in medicine (Eikeland et al 2014;Marcus 1999;Skeff and Mutha 1998). There is already an established attitude in the 2 The JSPE is particularly important because it was specifically designed to measure empathy in medical practitioners.…”

Section: A Problematic Lack Of Empathymentioning

confidence: 99%

Empathizing with patients: the role of interaction and narratives in providing better patient care

Hardy

2016

Med Health Care and Philos

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent studies have revealed a drop in the ability of physicians to empathize with their patients. It is argued that empathy training needs to be provided to both medical students and physicians in order to improve patient care. While it may be true that empathy would lead to better patient care, it is important that the right theory of empathy is being encouraged. This paper examines and critiques the prominent explanation of empathy being used in medicine. Focusing on the component of empathy that allows us to understand others, it is argued that this understanding is accomplished through a simulation. However, simulation theory is not the best explanation of empathy for medicine, since it involves a limited perspective in which to understand the patient. In response to the limitations and objections to simulation theory, interaction theory is presented as a promising alternative. This theory explains the physicians understanding of patients from diverse backgrounds as an ability to learn and apply narratives. By explaining how we understand others, without limiting our ability to understand various others, interaction theory is more likely than simulation theory to provide better patient care, and therefore is a better theory of empathy for the medical field.

show abstract

“…12 The 'professionalism' that 21st century medical schools are exhorted to teach their students 13 is the very set of attributes that learners seek out in such clinician role models. 14,15 And how can those attributes be taught other than by role modelling? 1,[16][17][18][19] Apprenticeship has come under severe strain, at least in the UK, for several reasons.…”

Section: Apprenticeshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Osler, Flexner, apprenticeship and 'the new medical education'

Dornan

2005

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Role Models — Guiding the Future of Medicine

Cited by 75 publications

References 5 publications

Professional attitudes: can they be taught and assessed in medical education?

Professional attitudes: can they be taught and assessed in medical education?

Empathizing with patients: the role of interaction and narratives in providing better patient care

Osler, Flexner, apprenticeship and 'the new medical education'

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About