Attitude check

At medical school I learnt anatomy, biochemistry, critical care medicine—the A to Z of medical sciences right down to the zoophilic diseases. I learnt laboratory and clinical skills. I learnt from my teachers, patients, and peers. Most importantly, I learnt to have an attitude worthy of a healer. The US philosopher and psychologist William James said that the greatest discovery of his generation was that human beings can alter their life by altering their attitudes of mind. I feel that's the essence of learning medicine.

Concentrating on clinical knowledge is not enough. Medicine is humanitarian in its roots. A doctor's attitude can affect a patient's response to treatment as the placebo effect shows, and the right attitude from a doctor is as vital as passing exams when it comes to healing patients.

The intense competition at medical school can cause students to have a narrow view of the world. To avoid this, doctors should broaden their knowledge, and nurture tolerance, sympathy, and wisdom. Without these qualities, medicine could become a weapon against humanity. In the past doctors have played their part in the inhumane treatment of mentally ill patients in asylums, the torture of prisoners in German concentration camps, and the unethical radiation experiments conducted on prisoners in the cold war. Doctors bear the responsibility for their decisions. Have you considered your standpoint on issues like euthanasia, abortion, and stem cell research?

Courses and clinical experience can teach us how to examine patients and solve clinical problems, but sympathy and humanity can only be gained through human relationships and a person's ability to make sacrifices for others. Doctors must make sacrifices for their patients, and courage and conviction are needed to make these sacrifices.

Although formal teaching on medical ethics is lacking, there is no shortage of role models from whom we can learn. If we add a small dose of goodwill and humanity to medical care, we may never feel remorse, and we will help to maintain the nobility of our profession.