Drexel University College of Medicine - Medic Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Joseph E. lmbriglia, lVl.D., D.Sc. Congratulations to each of you upon completion of four years of medical school. The many avenues of medi- cine are now open to you. As you investigate the oppor- tunities available - general practice, specialty, research, et cetera - I ask that you give serious consideration to a very important aspect of medicine, namely teaching. Medical education faces a serious problem today. lVlore and more emphasis is being placed on research at the expense of teaching. People forget that it is the well qualified physician-teachers who develop the individuals who tomorrow will determine the quality of research and patient care in our Nation. Recent surveys by the American Association of Medical Colleges have shown that 800 faculty openings exist in the Nation's 87 medical schools. Unless these are filled there will be not enough physicians to provide medical care for your children and grandchildren. Prior to World War ll, research, in many institutions was a stepchild to teaching and patient care. This no longer holds true. To insure the future of medical edu- cation we must establish a balance between teaching, research and patient care. Much has been written about the shortage of teachers. The many personal and moral quaIities'required of a good teacher pre-determine that only a limited number will qualify. What are the qualities that a good teacher must possess? In his comprehensive volume The American Col- lege, Nevitt Sanford, Professor of Psychology and Edu- cation at Stanford University cites studies on the attri- butes of good teachers most admired by students. The results attach first importance to personal qualities. Interest in students, fairness, pleasing personality and humor were most frequently mentioned in one investi- gation. Other research verifies that while students value mastery of subject matter they give top priority to personality. We all agree that a good teacher must be a good human being. As George Herbert Palmer, a distinguished teacher at Harvard wrote more than fifty years ago ln reality there is no human experience which is not useful to us teachers. No good qualities can be thought of which we can afford to drop. Idealism is also important. Can you imagine a teacher commanding respect who does not believe in the values of our social heritage. Indeed, idealism is implicit in the very nature of the profession. There is something idealistic about the very desire to teach to increase the knowledge of the student, to elevate his tastes and broaden his horizons. A teacher must possess a youthful spirit of optimism that includes faith in the future. He must believe that through the combined efforts of many people the multi- tudinous problems plaguing mankind can somehow be reduced if not resolved. A teacher needs the imagination that is known as empathy. A perceptive teacher becomes a student, divests himself as it were of his advanced knowledge and tries to understand how the subject appears to the beginner. A teacher's primary function is to cultivate the mind of the student. His competency or lack of competency in research should in no way affect his ability to teach. Finally, the effective teacher must be enthusiastic about his work. Studies have shown that dullness is the often mentioned criticism of students. Many a pupil has been fired with interest in a subject by ai teacher who made it seem exciting and important. The successful teacher must approach each day with energy and vitality. Enthusiasm is indispensable. Teaching holds no promise of fame or wealthg however. those who shape the minds of medical students wield a subtle power in society. ln Henry Adams' words: A good teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops. M174 ef Jmfayaa ,M it tl.

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1 T, xi ' 4 iffy? -:IH - ff , ,,o. .3f3li , ,fyjgz L- K ,. 1, f?'.:i.K : I ' A twig 113, , 5,-V ' Every year, young men enter the medical profession who neither are born doctors, nor have any great love of science, nor are helped by name or influence . . 4