Characteristics/Philosophy of MD

[nezlab99]

I am writing a term paper about MD's in a medical anthropology class. Part of the paper is identifying common identifiable general philosophies or characteristics of MD's. This is proving to be harder than it sounds; everything seems regional or specific to a demographic. I'm not writing about ideal characteristics and philosophies, but rather actual ones. Any ideas? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

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[Amy]

I don't think there are any commonalities among all MD's. They're as unique as everyone else. Maybe you should pick a different topic.

 

[tidy_kiwi]

All doctors have one thing in common - they are all human - no more and no less - and it is important for people (and yourselves) to remember this.

 

[e2k]

No commonalities? Are you crazy?

Medicine is a monastic cult. Our religion is medical science. We lock ourselves in our rooms with holy books for hours on end. We get preached the word every day in lecture. We use arcane fetishes such as stethoscopes, reflex hammers and EKGs, use arcane terminology that no one understands but us. We wear special white vestements that inspire fear, hope and despair.

Then, when we are ordained in an arcane ritual involving the Hippocratic Oath, we ourselves go out and preach the word to others. (Have you read the Hippocratic Oath recently? It talks about the brotherhood of physicians, and how we should respect the laws of our predecesors, etc)

As for personality characteristics in common, I think hubris is one of the traits we all suffer from. We beleive that we can challenge the will of the gods with our science and technology.

Doctors tend to form cliques (like policemen, fighter pilots and other highly-specialized warrior castes), and socialize only with other doctors (esp surgeons) because we are the only ones who understand our twisted lives.

Doctors are warrior-martyrs. We are expected to work guard shifts day and night, protecting humanity against tragedy that might strike at any time. We donate our personal lives, our energy and creativity to the singlehanded goal of wiping out suffering.

Hope that gives you a few things to think about.
ERIC

 

[srlondon]

Ummm... I agree with E2K about the insular social nature of docs, but I think that there is a great deal more disillusionment in the current generation of residents/med students than many people realize. While far few people are going into medicine expressly for the money in light of the current medico-economic situation in the USA, a lot of med students have the attitude that they're just training for a job, albeit a very demanding and difficult one. This perception is based on several things, including the fact that HMOs have popularized the perception that medical care is a commodity, docs are getting paid cents on the dollar for what they bill, most docs will work in 3-4 practices over the course of their careers rather than just hanging out a shingle and staying put, and the medicolegal environment has (right or wrong) effectively yanked the pedastal out from underneath the medical establishment.


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E2K Wrote:

Doctors are warrior-martyrs. We are expected to work guard shifts day and night, protecting humanity against tragedy that might strike at any time. We donate our personal lives, our energy and creativity to the singlehanded goal of wiping out suffering.

 

[different strokes]

Originally posted by e2k:
•No commonalities? Are you crazy?

Medicine is a monastic cult. Our religion is medical science. We lock ourselves in our rooms with holy books for hours on end. We get preached the word every day in lecture. We use arcane fetishes such as stethoscopes, reflex hammers and EKGs, use arcane terminology that no one understands but us. We wear special white vestements that inspire fear, hope and despair.

Then, when we are ordained in an arcane ritual involving the Hippocratic Oath, we ourselves go out and preach the word to others. (Have you read the Hippocratic Oath recently? It talks about the brotherhood of physicians, and how we should respect the laws of our predecesors, etc)

As for personality characteristics in common, I think hubris is one of the traits we all suffer from. We beleive that we can challenge the will of the gods with our science and technology.

Doctors tend to form cliques (like policemen, fighter pilots and other highly-specialized warrior castes), and socialize only with other doctors (esp surgeons) because we are the only ones who understand our twisted lives.

Doctors are warrior-martyrs. We are expected to work guard shifts day and night, protecting humanity against tragedy that might strike at any time. We donate our personal lives, our energy and creativity to the singlehanded goal of wiping out suffering.

Hope that gives you a few things to think about.
ERIC•••

It is not true that doctors only socialize with other doctors. I know a psychiatrist that does not socialize with physicians at all. Also, my family physician is married to an oceanographer. In fact, she understands how difficult it is to obtain a doctorate in ocean studies. She admits that she couldn't do it herself.

 

[different strokes]

Also, it is not only med students that study for hours on end. Try getting a doctorate in physics where you have to take courses, teach, do research, and pass comprehensive exams in order to begin writing a dissertation. Then defend the dissertation.

If it is a clinical psych program, you also have clinicals in addition to all of these other duties.

med student