February 25
by Alison
I had a great week in clinic and learned a lot over the
course of the first four days of this selective. Our preceptor has been a prominent teacher for a number of
years and is known to be a role model to many past and current trainees. From an education perspective, I
believe role models to be very important and I’m far from alone in this. The literature suggests that role
models play an important part in shaping the attributes and career paths of
future physicians [1,2].
Among the attributes cited in the literature as important
qualities in role models are time spent on teaching, emphasizing the
doctor-patient relationship, and teaching the psychosocial aspects of medicine
[3]. It is perhaps my good fortune
that the majority of the preceptors I have encountered on my clinical rotations
have possessed these qualities. They
have also all been highly skilled clinicians. However, there are a few people who have really stood out as
the people I would most like to emulate.
Reflecting on why I admire these particular people so much, part of it
stems from similarities in approaches to care. However, I think mostly it relates to
them having particular personal qualities, such as altruism and humility, that
I find admirable outside of medicine as well. I sincerely hope that I can follow the example they set.
1. Paice, E.,
Heard, S., & Moss, F., How important are role models in making good
doctors? BMJ, 2002, 325: 707-10
2. Wright, S., Wong, A., & Newill, C. The impact of
role models on medical students, JGIM,
1997, 12: 53-6
3. Wright, S.M., Kern, D.E., Kolodner, K., Howard, D.M.,
& Brancati, F.L., Attributes of excellent attending-physician role
models, NEJM, 1998, 339(27): 1986-93
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