01 August 2011

New Horizons for New Doctors

This sounds exciting and for once the medical students are the guinea pigs. Will this mean more compassionate doctors? This will remain to be seen, but I like the analogies used in the article. What is discouraging is the length of time required to make this a national program and not just at two medical schools working together.

Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the University of South Florida (USF) College of Medicine in Tampa, where the SELECT (Scholarly Excellence. Leadership Experiences. Collaborative Training) program is based stated, “we intend to change the DNA of healthcare, one future physician leader at a time. This medical school admissions program is set up to consider the individual's emotional intelligence in addition to the individual's ability to memorize organic chemistry formulas and score high on MCAT.

Dr Klasko said that he has observed medical care shifting from the model of the kindly Dr. Welby to the narcissistic, brusk, but brilliant Dr. House. The SELECT program is meant to produce physicians who will be as bright as Dr. House, but as compassionate as Dr. Welby.

SELECT was jointly created and operated by USF College of Medicine, where students will spend their first 2 years, and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where they will complete their clinical training within a healthcare network that shares this philosophy.

The four-year program will have new methods to teach the science and technical expertise that are needed for the practice of medicine while putting patients and their needs and expectations at the forefront.

I will let you read about the details in the article here. I find this promising for the future of medicine where doctors will not use fear and myths to frighten patients, but use their intelligence to enlighten patients and teach patients what needs to be accomplished for their better health. This will put the patient first and the medical problem as part of the patients desires and goals.

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