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From: werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner)
Newsgroups: net.college,net.med
Subject: Re: Hacker and Pre-Med Analogy
Message-ID: <1019@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Dec-84 17:43:08 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.1019
Posted: Thu Dec 13 17:43:08 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Dec-84 05:08:06 EST
References: <3138@utah-cs.UUCP> <521@sdcsvax.UUCP> <557@uwmacc.UUCP>
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 46
Xref: watmath net.college:516 net.med:1158

> In article <521@sdcsvax.UUCP> allyn@sdcsvax.UUCP (Allyn Fratkin) writes:
> >
> >I'm an undergraduate at UC San Diego, and I have seen this exile here also.
> >The "fittest students" are the ones with the best grades, not the ones that
> >are the best programmers.  In fact, there is not really a class in how to 
> 
> Isn't this the same as what has been going on all along in  
> Medical School admissions?
> The people who have the best grades get in, but they don't necessarily
> make the best doctors. I've know several people who really liked ...
>                                                   Sue Brunkow

	Actually in recent years, there's been a trend away from that and
towards admitting not only more women and minorities, but also more older
students (ex-nurses, ex-paramedics,ex-housewives, etc...) and more importantly
towards admitting a student body with a more diverse set of interests and
hobbies.
	The only problem is that in Med School, there is no way to actually
pursue any of the hobbies that got you in Med School in the first place. I
still set aside some time for Usenet but have had to unsuscribe to many 
groups I would really prefer to be reading, in order to have time for
Anatomy, Biochemistry, Embryology, Histology, Human Behavior, Genetics,
and least important, food and sleep. (And this is just 1st year, it gets
harder after that.)
	The dilemna was put best in one of the serious passages of the
Official MD Handbook, (Well, 5 minutes and I can't find it, so here are
two non-so-serious passages):
1)	The ability to read, assimilate, and regurgitate vast amounts of
Medical Knowledge. -- and to keep reading ... without demanding an explanation
plus the ability to work 36 hours straight without demanding a rationale.
No one wants a doctor who says, "Uh gee, I'll tell you what you have as soon
as I can go look it up, okay?"
2)	Would you rather have a doctor who compassionately holds your hand
as you expire, or who rudely cures you with a shot of the latest antibiotic?

	They try to teach us to treat the illness (the whole patient) and
not just the disease, but they have to teach the disease, and that's the
majority of training.  It's a problem, but not one likely to go away.

(If you respond to only the Med part, take net.college off the subject
heading, or you can mail.)

-- 
				Craig Werner
				!philabs!aecom!werner
		What do you expect?  Watermelons are out of season!