J Korean Med Assoc.  2012 Feb;55(2):110-112. 10.5124/jkma.2012.55.2.110.

Physicians for 'here and now'

• Im JG
• Shin JS

• KMID: 2192657
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2012.55.2.110

Abstract

Three reports published in the 20th century have functioned as standard guidelines for medical education: the General Professional Education of the Physician report by the Association of American Medical Colleges, Tomorrow's Doctors from the General Medical Council of the UK, and Korean Physicians for the 21st Century by the Korean Association of Medical Colleges. At the moment, a great deal of innovation is occurring in Korean medical societies. However, these innovations bring to mind the parable of the blind men and an elephant in which each blind man feels part of an elephant with his hands and misunderstands the elephant's nature because he cannot see the whole animal. In the same way, there is no comprehensive picture of 'what is the good doctor' for here and now. Korean society is changing more and more rapidly in the 21st century due to influences such as an influx of immigration and resulting multiculturalism. We could not predict these changes even in the 1990s, when Korean Association for Medical Colleges was preparing its report. In light of a dynamically changing society, we must review and revise our definitions of a 'physician for here and now' every ten or twenty years.

Keyword

Good doctor; Medical education; Societal needs; Needs assessment

MeSH Terms

Animals
Cultural Diversity
Education, Medical
Education, Professional
Elephants
Emigration and Immigration
Hand
Humans
Light
Male
Needs Assessment
Societies, Medical

Reference

1. AAMC Project Panel on the General Professional Education of the Physician and College Preparation for Medicine. Association of American Medical Colleges. Physicians for the twenty-first century: the GPEP report. 1984. Washington, DC: Association of American Medical Colleges.

2. Tomorrow's Doctor: outcomes and standards for undergraduate medical education [Internet]. General Medical Council. 2009. cited 2012 Feb 1. London: General Medical Council;Available from: http://www.gmc-uk.org/TomorrowsDoctors_2009.pdf_39260971.pdf.

3. Korean Association of Medical Colleges. Medical Education Plan for the 21st Century Korea: Korean Physicians for the 21st Century. 2000. Korean Association of Medical Colleges.

4. Senge PM. The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. 1990. New York: Doubleday/Currency.