2009/11/17
By John Goodman Filed under Uncategorized on November 17, 2009 with 9 comments
Should communications and sociology replace anatomy and physiology in med schools? Some say “yes.”
The Nose that Knows: A one-point bump in Robert Parker’s wine ratings equates to a 7% increase in price.
Follow-up: Most wine ratings no better than a coin toss.
I get the picture. Political correctness in medical school is more imiportant than curing patients.
So what do we conclude from the greater incidence of back surgeries and hysterectomies? Are US patients being over treated? Or are patients in other countries being short changed?
I’d rather have a doctor with poor social skills and a mediocre bed-side manner that is extremely talented in medical science, than one who is the life of the party but skipped anatomy and physiology to take classes on interpersonal communication.
I believe the Parker results. He certainly influences my buying decisions.
I hope the woman who lied about her breast cancer goes to jail. Surely that is a crime. Isn’t it?
A few years ago there was a movie about a cold, unfeeling doctor (played by William Hurt) who got cancer. So he checked himself into his own hospital and experienced first hand all of the indifference and lack of sympathy that he himself showed to others. It shocked him how poorly he was treated in the hospital, so when he got better he began to empathize more with his patients and he even started to lecture the hospital interns about compassion and sensitivity.
But, like Devon Herrick says, I don’t necessarily want William Hurt treating my illness, no matter how much he empathizes with me. It is better to have a professional, well-trained doctor.
I am also influenced by Parker’s wine ratings. Isn’t he supposed to be able to remember every wine he’s ever tasted?
I think the post on what happens to women after an illness is sad, but true.
I used to equate the price of wine with its quality but I’ve since abandoned that qualifier. I have found that since I am not a wine connoisseur and taste is my only criteria, I have little reason to spend more than $10 a bottle and there are plenty of good tasting wines available at that price.