Physicianship and the Rebirth of Medical Education

The renewal of medical curricula generally arises from emerging pedagogies (e.g. problem-based learning), new technologies (e.g. high fidelity simulation), or prevailing sociocultural forces (e.g. complexity of health care delivery and team-based care). Approximately 15 years ago, a team of physicians and administrators sought to take this further: by considering the very nature of medical practice and the patient-physician relationship that is the context and conduit of caring and care, they restructured the composition and function of medical education. This book, Physicianship and the Rebirth of Medical Education, is the authoritative publication on the philosophy, design, and implementation of this new curriculum.

From first year to graduation, this book reimagines the education of medical students in its entire scope. It discusses the epistemology of clinical practice and pedagogical methods and addresses pragmatic issues of curricular implementation. The educational blueprint presented in the book rests on a new definition of sickness, one focused on impairments of function as the primary issue of concern for both patients and their care givers. This perspective avoids the common shift of medical attention from persons to diseases, and thus provides the basis for an authentic and robust patient-centered mindset.

The title of the book refers to a "rebirth." This implies that there was a previous "birth." Indeed, the critical ingredients of medical education were articulated historically and many features emanate from a time-honored apprenticeship model. This book recognizes in William Osler and his "natural method of teaching the subject of medicine" the foundational elements for teaching physicianship. The practice of medicine is indelibly relational and, in turn, medical education is an intellectual and an emotional journey that is rooted in clinical relationships. As this book shows, medicine must unfold in the context of patient care; patients, not diseases, should be the center of attention.

J. Donald Boudreau is a practicing clinician in pulmonary medicine. He was Associate Dean, Medical Education and Student Affairs, from 1997 to 2004 and again in 2015. He is a core faculty member of a research unit, the McGill Centre for Medical Education. Dr. Boudreau is a Professor of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a North American foundation dedicated to promoting humanism in medicine.

Eric J. Cassell is Emeritus Professor of Public Health at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Adjunct Professor of Medicine at McGill University. He is also a fellow of the Hastings Centre, a member of the Institutes of Health of the National Academy of Sciences, and Master of the American College of Physicians.

Abraham Fuks is a clinical immunologist with experience in research and clinical practice. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill from 1995 to 2006 and was a Visiting Professor in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard University in 2007-2008. He has an ongoing scholarly interest in the language of medicine and its metaphoric structure and in the role of narratives in the patient-physician relationship.