Views of medicine as a profession

CMAJ's editorial on the topic of whether medicine is still a profession1 states that the core values of the medical profession are integrity, compassion, altruism and excellence, but in my view these values have eroded over the past few decades.

For example, the most visible characteristic of modern medicine is excellence, but this quality is seen by the profession and the public alike as mere technical achievement. The practising physician relies heavily on positive PR from this cutting-edge image, and each media account of a medical breakthrough is a welcome ray of sunshine in the progressively dimming world of what is now recognized as the “sickness industry.”

People have discovered that doctors are people, too — wealthy ones, more often than not. People have also discovered that if you poke any saint deep enough, you will soon touch self-interest. There goes the aura of altruism and compassion.

The editorial says that we need to “restore the scientific integrity of medicine.” Perhaps we would be well advised to work on the personal integrity of individual doctors, since so many of them have found a new home in the deep pockets of Big Pharma.

The word “humane” has disappeared from many sectors of society, including medicine. This concept needs to be brought back to replace the devils of indifference and greed. As additional reading on this subject, I highly recommend Petr Skrabanek's The Death of Humane Medicine and the Rise of Coercive Healthism.2