LEARNING THE PHYSICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP

Abstract

In October, 1959, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) held its second institute on clinical teaching, which was led by Dr. Charles G. Child III, chairman of the department of surgery at the University of Michigan. As is usual in the planning stages of an institute, subcommittees found that they needed information to aid them in defining the nature and severity of problems suggested as topics for institute discussion. Dr. Herbert Gaskill and the members of his subcommittee, assigned to the topic "Science and Art in Teaching Responsibility for Patients," came to wonder on whose behalf they were struggling. Both this subcommittee and the public seemed to feel that many physicians are either insensitive to the needs of their patients or deal with them inadequately. The subcommittee attempted to answer the following questions. Does the young physician feel that he has a problem in this area? Wherein does he