Mr. Schikora died last year as a result of his exposure-related illness. During the unit on public health issues, for example, students talk candidly with laryngectomy patients who developed throat cancer as a result of smoking. During the lesson on connective tissue disorders, patients with rheumatoid arthritis explain how this disease impacts their lives. And although it's critically important to understand biology, pathology, pharmacology and anatomy, it's the application of that knowledge that is most important if we are to train truly humanistic doctors. Doctors don't just make patients better.
Patients also make doctors better.
The first application of this patient interaction begins in Year I shortly after students learn about the anatomy of the arm and hand. Last fall, several patients with nerve damage came to Scott Hall so medical students could better understand the physical manifestations and the practicalities of living with such a condition. In addition, students began expanding their interpersonal skills as they interviewed the patients, performed simple diagnostic tests, and used deductive reasoning to arrive at possible diagnoses. Sylvia Ball, who retired from veterinary medicine several years ago, never expected to become a teacher for medical students, but now she is thrilled at the opportunity to do so. Upon retiring, she took a part-time job in a light assemby plant and after just one day of completing a repetitious task with her hands, she suffered permanent damage to her median nerve, which affected the feeling in her thumb and forefinger.