The social status of physicians and the quality of health care
Leo Sher, M.D.
Several weeks ago, I was reading “The New York Times” and came across an article entitled, “Out of Camelot, Knights in White Coats Lose Way” (1). The article contained some interesting statements including the following, “Physicians used to be the pillars of any community. If you were smart and sincere and ambitious, the top of your class, there was nothing nobler you could aspire to become. Doctors possessed special knowledge. They were caring and smart, the best kind of people you could know. Today, medicine is just another profession, and doctors have become like everybody else: insecure, discontented and anxious about the future.” When I read these statements, I recalled the words of Samuel Wilson, a California physician and the President of the San Bernardino County Medical Society, “Unless physicians stand together to fight threats and injustices, our practices cannot remain viable in the future” (2)
Physicians are a key group to ensure a well-functioning health care system. The high social status of physicians means the high-quality health care. The low social status of physicians means the low-quality health care.
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References
- Jauhar S. Out of camelot, knights in white coats lose way. The New York Times. January 31, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/health/01essay.html
- An interview with SBCMS President Samuel Wilson, M.D. The Southern California Physician, July, 2003. http://sbcms.org/southcalphysician/2003/%20july/art1.htm
Comments
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- The social status of doctors and quality of care by Said Shahtahmasebi, Ph. D.
- Doctors: where we are? by Amra Zalihic, M.D., Ph.D.
- Perspectives on Medicine from Prospective Physicians by Allison Greene and Christopher Bailey