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Recognition, reflection, and role models: Critical elements in education about care in medicine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2008

Anna L. Janssen ,
Roderick D. MacLeod  and
Simon T. Walker
Anna L. Janssen*
Affiliation:
Faculty Education Unit, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Roderick D. MacLeod
Affiliation:
District Palliative Care Medical Director, Waitemata District Health Board, Auckland, New Zealand Department of General and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Simon T. Walker
Affiliation:
Bio-Ethics Centre, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Otago, New Zealand
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Anna Janssen, Faculty Education Unit, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, 151 Park Road, Grafton, PO Box 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective:

Medical education can be described as a socialization process that has a tendency to produce doctors who struggle to convey to patients that they care. Yet, for people who are suffering, to enjoy the quality of life they are entitled to, it is important that they feel cared for as people, rather than simply attended to as patients.

Method:

This article addresses how we teach medical students the art of caring for the person rather than simply treating the disease—a question particularly relevant to end-of-life care where, in addition to the physical needs, attention to the psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual needs of the patient is paramount. Following an overview of what it is to care and why it is important that patients feel cared for, we investigate how we learn to care and develop caring human relationships, describing the development and display of empathy in adulthood and the developmental impact of human interaction.

Results:

We outline evidence of situational barriers to effective education about care in medicine including role models, ward culture, and the socialization process.

Significance of results:

We then propose a model for medical education based on patient contact, reflection, self-care, role model development, and feedback that will see students learn the art of human care as well as the science of disease management.

Keywords

CareMedical educationEmpathyRole modelingSocialization
Type
Review Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , December 2008 , pp. 389 - 395
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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