The Hindu : `Include ethics, communication in medical curriculum'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 26, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Include ethics, communication in medical curriculum'

By Feroze Ahmed

CHENNAI, JAN. 25. Ethics and communication are key aspects in medical education and should be included in the curriculum for undergraduate programmes, Robert K. Crone, president, Harvard Medical International, United States, has said.

"The major issues we have to teach medical students to deal with are ethics, the ability to communicate with patients, and the concept of wellness," he said in an interview to The Hindu.

In the U.S., these issues are incorporated in the curriculum and are addressed by dealing with patients from their point of view, he said.

"We have to look at how a decision will affect the patient, his family, employment and other factors. It is not merely about looking at the underlying disease processes but addressing it from the point of social perspectives."

While ethics in medical education and practice is a concern globally, another key area for debate in medicine is communication.

It is not accepted anymore for doctors to prescribe a solution and expect patients to follow them, he said, adding that colleges abroad were now teaching students to communicate with patients, colleagues and the community.

"We teach students how to listen to the patients, how to give bad news, how to tell them that they have cancer. We practise communication by using professional actors as patients," Dr. Crone said.

Another global concern, he said, was that fewer medical students were taking up research as a career. "We have to create incentives for them to get into research."

The challenge before medical colleges is to prepare physicians to continue learning throughout their professional careers. They also have to adapt to working with other healthcare professionals, such as nurses and pharmacists, he said.

As for medical education in India, he said the country had an excellent system, and the testimony to this lay in the "number of India-educated physicians around the world."

The private and Government colleges in the country complement each other and it is important to maintain a balance, he said.

Dr. Crone was here for the annual meeting between the Harvard Medical International and its alliance partner in India, Sri Ramachandra Medical College.

As part of the alliance, the college has organised a series of continuing medical education programmes and workshops this week for its staff and physicians from other sectors.

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