Reason why the new MCAT doesn't is silly...

[jman128]

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EDIT: Just realized I fudged up the topic title. Oops.

There is an article on cnn explaining the new MCAT. This was one of the comments:

You take an egghead, force them to work more than 40 hrs. straight for little pay, prevent them from living any kind of life or develop extracurricular interests, let them think that they are god and then they feel resentful when they are not worshipped, and you wonder why they can't communicate with sick people? Or develop relationships with anyone, really. They never developed themselves! First the system needs to choose well developed people to enter med school, and then the profession has to lose the awful arrogance of martyrdom that they have to memorize everything. Train them to fish, not to eat fish; it is easy to look up facts nowadays so teach them to use the technology. Then let them live normal lives, leave at 5 PM, go home to families, engage in their communities, and return refreshed in the morning. Everyone has figured out how to live within that discipline except doctors, thinking they can't hand off patients to the next shift. The profession would become more attractive, more people would enter it, more doctors would be available to cover the 24 hours, and doctors would become real people who could interact with real people. And best of all, patients wouldn't have to go to 10 doctors to get a diagnosis! That alone would increase physician efficiency by a factor of 10. Doctors would be happier and patients would be properly taken care of. Maybe we are getting close to this dream because the current system has failed sooooo many people. The profession is past self-policing; the public is forcing the profession to change or go broke. When will the profession and their training schools wake up?

I think the commentator is a little harsh but he raises a good point. How are doctors supposed to connect with patients if they don't lead "normal" lives?

 

[Ismet]

I don't think he makes a good point at all. All of the doctors I know personally and those I have shadowed lead "normal" lives, whatever "normal" is. They go home to families, travel, have interests outside of medicine, etc. Yes, you're always going to find the workaholics and specialties that demand more time in the hospital/office/on-call than others, and it seems like this commenter has seen a couple out-of-touch doctors and thinks these are the norm. The commenter just wanted a soapbox to air his complaints (notice how the comment has nothing to do with the MCAT). He complains about people having to see 10 different doctors to get a diagnosis, not realizing that it is humanly impossible for one doctor to be an expert in every single specialty. No amount of physicians being "refreshed" will change that.

 

[MedMentor]

Ask maintenance personnel, shift workers and cleaning staff how many 60+ hour weeks they work. I think most, including the commenter, would be surprised to find that to excel in any position you have to put in the time. There's simply no substitute for experience. Certainly, there are inefficiencies in medicine, but the fact remains that the medical skill set is in demand and only a relatively small portion of the population can provide it. Until that changes, doctors will continue to work long hours to achieve maximum results. Some react negatively to the strain; others don't. The commenter offers the same sensationalist opinion that's been in the news for the past ten years. Search "Abraham Verghese" for a more insightful solution to the problem.

I agree, research any profession that makes a decent salary, there will be many 60-90 hour work weeks and limited social life. Everyone in premed advising says "If you want to make money and live a normal life, go do business." Not True! Accountants have their busy seasons every year, investment bankers go psychotic and turn into workaholics, and financial analysts may never rise above their entry level positions.

 

[TheShaker]

The ability to look up information is not the same or as effective as the ability to recall information. That's comparable to working with a very slow computer on dial-up vs. a modern computer on satellite.

The author complains about training being too hard for doctors and that standards should be lowered then complains about the ineffectiveness of doctors in the same breath.

Depicting all doctors as lifeless drones is a massive and inaccurate generalization.

This author is uninformed and is riding the wave of sensationalism. He should really think through his ideas before he writes them. 👎

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Train them to fish, not to eat fish; it is easy to look up facts nowadays so teach them to use the technology.

This sounds like fun until you come in after getting popped in the head and the doctor has to look up what exactly was that subdural hematoma thing again...? Doesn't inspire too much confidence.

 

[notbobtrustme]

People just don't understand how much knowledge you need to practice medicine properly.

You can say things "teach how to fish" but when learning how to fish takes 8+ years, the analogy simply breaks down.