Analysis on “Medicine, the Art?”, Essay Example

 The fundamentals of what make up a good physician have been around for the longest of times. A good doctor is that whom understands that it takes much more than endless nights of studying in order to be successful in his or her studies. Despite the fact that these fundamentals are seldom directly stated such as they as stated in the article “Medicine, The Art?”, every good doctor is well aware of the fact that in order to excel in his or her field, he or she must always have the four basic principles (as explained by Esterbrook) in mind. Because of this, it is a fair statement to say that doctors should be required to be both artists as well as scientists in order to be able to heal promptly and efficiently.

 Esterbrook does an exemplary job of describing the epitome of what a physician should be and how he or she should treat his or her patients. To start off, a doctor must be cognizant of the fact that mastery of the coursework for medicine is not always enough. If this were the case, then all doctors would simply be scientists and not artists because they would objectivity all of the patients that would come through the emergency room doors. In opposition, if a doctor is able to have mastery of his material all while having subjectivity and/or individuality, then he or she is bound to succeed. This is simply due to the fact that since every patient is different, this means that the same medications will not always work for every single patient. In order to be a great doctor, all four principles of medicine must be considered.

 Humanity is one of the most important aspects of being a doctor. Just like it was said before, due to the fact that every single individual patient is different, a doctor must be able to assess what kind of treatment is best for what kind of patient. For example, a good doctor would be aware that a treatment for a five year old boy with cancer would greatly vary from the kind of treatment that should be given to a thirty year old woman with a different type of cancer. In addition to this, a humane doctor is able to empathize with one’s patients and realize what he or she might be willing to undergo and what he or she may not be willing to undergo. In order to do this, a doctor must be able to put himself of herself in the patient’s shoes and decipher if a course of action is a good idea for a certain patient.

 Last, but certainly not least, in order to be a unique physician, as explained by the article, a physician must have morality as a principle in his or her belief system. This ensures that a doctor will not simply give a patient a certain type of treatment only because it is the most expensive, but because it is the best option for the patient to survive. On that note, it is imperative that a physician genuinely cares for his or her patients and that he or she is able to interact with the patients in a professional, yet personal manner so that the patients feel at ease when speaking to him or her.

 The four fundamental building blocks as explained by Esterbrook are flawless. In my opinion, doctors should always love the study of medicine and love the patient at an equilibrium level. By doing so, a doctor is able to work rigorously in order to extend the life of a patient who might die otherwise. Considering the fact that physicians carry the responsibility of having the life of another person in their lives, only the best of the best physicians should be allowed to treat other people. In addition, every doctor should always remember that wearing the white coat means that he or she has the responsibility to be both an artist and a scientist throughout the course of his or her career. Through this, the maximum amount of lives will be saved in the near future and the art of medicine will long live on.