SUNY Downstate Medical Center - Iatros Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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t I f ' iiiif mil mil mil ini ' ' r liiilniiimnim If lit If ' ' i!inlunSiiim fffff I ' isissssss -, Hon and very real loss in doctor-patient relationsl is a decline in prestige for the medical professionT We live in a science-fiction age and the mystique of medicine does not impress as it did formerly. In recognition of ' the necessity or family physicians, the AMA recently created a general practice specialty willi residency training in inter- na! nu-dicine. surgery, pediatrics and ps)cliiatr ' . This program ai:)pears most aimed at peer accei)- tance of general practice in the face of medical schools ' emphasis on specialization. It is hoped that by strengthening peer image as well as background, the trend away from general practice will be reversed. The role of the physician is in a rapid phase of evolution. He seems headed for greater conrnumity in ' ol ement, pn bably more on a political ;md ci it association level ratlier than through work in the ghettoes. At Downstate, we have seen exidence of student interest in all three of the above areas. The anti- ' ietnani war group and Biafra Medical Relief are two o rganizations showing shong commitment to world events. Tlie Student Health Project in the summer of 196S made slight impact on Brook] n ' s poor, but marked impact on the medical students involved. Student participatiori on committees and in curriculum e ' ahiation and revision point to interest on the part of physicians-to-be in local pohtic. In five or ten years, the Class of 1970 will begin, perhaps, to project a ne - image to those it serves— an image forged in ideals, tempered by daily frustration and sharpened by pride in being a physician.

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; « !: ' „ ' ' l S? ' ! ■ » aor (■laiiEifMi ». ilk Hi of office to Dick Nixon, who coine(| ft phiase silent majnntv to represent his siippojtfir B m And ni New oik |olin Lindsay decided to tak§ - e another crack at tli ' second tou ' hest job in America. The Fall of 1969 brought the exci tement of the World Champion Mets as well as a rather dull mayoral race as Lindsay was reelected— almost by default. Protest resumed toward die lingering Viet- nam war and, in response. President Nixon began a slow dismantling of our Asian war machine. Aims limitation talks began with Russia and in one giant leap for mankind, man walked on tlie moon. These past four years have also seen the Rip Van Winkle that was American medicine slowh come to life. Asleep since the Flexner Report, medical education awoke with a start amid lu ' gings for ex- pansion and curriculum revision. Another slumber- ing giant, the AMA, moved into the political areria and, in the face of criticism in its own ranks, pans to reexamine American medicine. Federal and State government met rising medical costs witli programs of assistance only to have the costs spiral sti higher, creating new medical needy. Prosperity has spawned a new kind of physiciai one who chooses a specialty rather than general practice, not only because it allows him to more nearly master an aspect of medicine, but also because it may allow him more regular hours, vaca- tion time iuid, perhaps, increased profits. While die specialist is more capable of handling tk ' patient referred to him, he is less able to fulfill the image created by his predecessors one and two genera- tions ago. The result of this apparent loss in dedica- »- ?; t» t vt

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By 1879 the faculty was thoroughly con- vinced that the method of teaching medicine then in vogue in practically all medical schools was entirely unsatisfactory. As the Annual Annouticement of that year stated, ' ' the system of medical teaching generally followed in this country, of repeat- ing the same lectures annually . . . is radical- ly wrong. The Council and Faculty have adopted an elective graded course of in- struction for such as desire more thorough and more systematic training in the primary before passing to the more advanced prac- tical branches. Dr. Skene had been a pupil and an assist- ant of Dr. Austin Flint, so it is not surpris- ing to find that two of his outstanding characteristics were in always insisting the patient be studied as an individual, and being conservative in treatment. History of the Long Island College Hospi- tal and SUNY Downstate Medical Center Austin Flint Professor of Medicine 1860-1868 The lack of geographic diversity at our medical school has long been a source of concern to a good number of students at Downstate. While it may seem to be a matter of little consequence, in ac- tuality the existing situation indicates an issue of important magnitude. Few would argue against the idea tliat diversity among the individual members of the student body is a stimulus to new ideas, an aid to the students ' maturational growth, and a necessary condition for an exciting and intellectual community. Ideally, the students should come from a large variety of social, political, economic, intellectual, and cultural backgrounds. While such latitude is not presently feasible, this situation could be approached. One major problem in this regard is that those in- dividuals who are accepted to medical school have already undergone numerous screening processes, all of which inevitably work to decrease tlie degree of diversity in the group. Christine Hry- cien transfer stu- dent from Bo- logna