How Patients Appraise Physicians

Abstract

Cousins summarizes the results of an informal survey of patient\nattitudes toward physicians that he conducted to convince skeptical medical\nstudents of the importance of communication skills, concern for a patient's\nlife circumstances, and medical ethics. Questionnaires were sent to homes in\nthe neighborhood of the UCLA School of Medicine, asking respondents if they\nhad changed or were thinking of changing doctors and their reasons for doing\nso, and for suggestions about medical education. The answers revealed a high\nlevel of dissatisfaction with physicians for reasons other than competence. \nPoor communication skills and overreliance on medication and technology were\nmajor causes of patient discontent. Cousins reports that his students now\ngive serious attention to discussions of all factors that make up a strategy\nof patient care. (KIE abstract)