Contemporary medical students' quest for self-fulfillment through community service

Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
E J Eckenfels

Abstract

The author argues against the criticism that contemporary medical students, like most educated youth in our society, are self-centered moral relativists without a sense of social responsibility. He first frames his argument in terms of what Charles Taylor calls the three "malaises of modernity," namely, the rise of individualism, an emphasis on instrumental reasoning based on bureaucratic efficiency, and the loss of political action. He goes on to show how these malaises are manifested in the academic health center and their effect on the professional socialization of future physicians. Then, using John Evan's perspective of the need to shift from "supply-side" to "demand-side" thinking in the way today's medical students are trained and Hafferty and Frank's thesis that the most critical determinants of a physician's identity operate not within the formal curriculum but in a "hidden curriculum," he presents his own case of how Rush medical students, by participating in student-generated, voluntary projects--via the Rush Community Service Initiatives Program--are harnessing their individualism through commitment to serving the poor and disadvantaged. To show that the situation at Rush is not unique, the author also points to the...Continue Reading

Citations

Jul 15, 2006·Advances in Health Sciences Education : Theory and Practice·Kai-Kuen LeungChing-Yu Chen
Aug 8, 2001·Medical Education·E J Eckenfels
Jun 22, 2010·Teaching and Learning in Medicine·Margaret E B SheridanWilliam T Basco
Oct 14, 2011·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Chantal M L R BrazeauLinda Boyd
Jul 12, 2003·Teaching and Learning in Medicine·Carol L ElamDavid W Musick
Feb 16, 2006·Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·Charles M HendrixIsabelle Thompson
Sep 19, 2003·Journal of Women's Health·Erica FrankLisa K Elon
Mar 3, 2007·Teaching and Learning in Medicine·Nathan J AverillCarol L Elam
Jul 31, 2009·The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, New York·Yasmin S MeahDavid C Thomas
Jan 21, 2020·Medical Teacher·Celso P PagatpatanJeff Daniel C Lauron
Jun 14, 2002·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Louise Arnold
Oct 28, 2015·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Maria Athina Tina MartimianakisFrederic W Hafferty
Mar 30, 2004·The Journal of Asthma : Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma·Timothy H SelfDouglas E Clark
Jun 1, 2006·Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research·Sharon Johnston

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