Question

Gorovitz’s main thesis is that medical education ought to focus more on ethical issues in the course of teaching students the technical skills and knowledge necessary for becoming physicians. What reasons and examples does he provide in support of this view, and how would you evaluate the importance of this view for another profession?

Should:

Present Gorovitz’s thesis that medical education ought to focus more on ethical issues in the course of teaching students the technical skills and knowledge necessary for becoming physicians.

Clearly and correctly identify Gorovitz’s reasons and examples in support of this thesis.

Present a comparison to the need for increased ethical awareness in another profession (such as the law, education, counseling, consulting, etc.

This is a lenghtly assignment and should include many details

Answer 1

Answer.

Education in ethics has become an integral part of medical education and training and has become increasingly important  in recent years because of the increasing emphasis placed on professional formation by accrediting bodies such as the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and the Accreditation Council. However, there is no consensus about the specific goals of medical ethics education, the essential knowledge and skill sets of the learners, the competent pedagogical methods and processes for implementation, and assessment.

In 1985, the landmark article “Basic Curricular Goals in Medical Ethics,” known as the DeCamp Report, argued that basic instruction in medical ethics should be a requirement in all
U.S. medical schools.1 That same year, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) introduced standards stipulating that in U.S. medical schools “ethical, behavioral, and socioeconomic subjects pertinent to medicine must be included in the curriculum and that material on medical ethics and human values should be presented. Learners at all levels receive instruction addressing professional guidelines  to prepare them for a lifelong commitment to professionalism in patient care, education, and research.
Given the highly sensitive nature of work in the medical field, physicians and other medical professionals work under a high expectation work environment where their work is always assessed in terms of its liability for the health, well being and the overall life of the patients involved. Gorovitz thus argues that A physician’s ability and willingness to act in accordance with accepted moral norms and values is one key component of professional behavior; as a result, educational objectives related to ethics need to be incorporated and emphasised in the broader goals for professional education.
In light of this, he described medical professionalism as a traning process of becoming scientifically and clinically competent; directing the use of clinical knowledge and skills for the protection and promotion of patient’s health interests, while simulate keeping self-interest a secondary concern.

It is Through such a training that Gorovitz believes that medical practitioners can establish their position in society as a highly established profession with its stated standard and ethical code. Moroever, in doing so, the young medical trainees are encouraged towards more just an dlegally sound practices which sustain medicine as a public trust, rather than as a guild of professionals who merely seek the protection of the economic, political, and social power of its members.