I appreciate the needs for undergraduate and graduate degree programs in emergency medical services and disaster medicine and management, as it will not be possible to move our disciplines forward without such programs. I understand the motivation for curricular changes, but there must be distinction between what is necessary to accomplish a defined task and what would be nice. Need must be the driving force in each of the above. And, the domain of each of the elements must be defined clearly or the process will fail. For those of us who profess to be in a helping and humanitarian profession, we have a responsibility to identify real needs and separate them from wants and desires.
Meeting needs comes first whether for individuals, populations, or organizations.
And if resources permit, may you, your family, your friends and your organizations each satisfy as many wants as is possible. In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. The last is the real tragedy. Lady Windermere's Fan Return to Tables of Content Return to PDM Home Page References 1.