It Is Still a Privilege to Be a Doctor

Abstract

I have been dean for student affairs at Harvard Medical School for eight years. It is my responsibility and privilege to listen to medical students and to support their personal and professional development. What they have been telling me this year troubles me. It is exemplified by a recent encounter with a third-year student.The student was distressed. What had sustained him through the preclinical years was the anticipation of learning patient care. Now he had earned the right to wear a white coat and enter the wards. What he had encountered had discouraged him profoundly. The problem was not . . .