First, do no harm~

A recent article in The Star discussed about the social accountability of medical schools, having to accept responsibility for the shortcomings in the quality of graduates and their impact on healthcare delivery, particularly when it costs so much to train a doctor. Again, doctors who are incompetent but were allowed to graduate and given the approval to kill.
I think that it is not so much of the doctor's fault when the healthcare system in most countries, even the 1 st world ie Singapore are short handed. They are so worked out that from the initial aim of " I am here to cure you" it has now been degraded to " As long as the patient does not die". As the saying goes: First, do no harm. Hence, it does not mean that the doctor has to cure a patient, so long as the doctor keeps the patient alive until the consultant next comes and sees him/her, the doctor is safe.
Medical schools teach and guide you to be a SAFE doctor. Ultimately, we as students learn most of everything on our own. It is a self-directed learning process and unless the medical school puts in absolutely no effort at all in aiding its students, personally I do not think it is fair to blame just the medical schools. Students play a part too. Or maybe, its the duration of the course. 5 years is too long. Not to mention 6 years. Students get burnt out after a while. Hmm..
Oh and today.. I was in the cardiology wards and I overheard a houseman "counselling" a patient's wife about his medications. It went like this (with the Dr's hands waving all over the place):-
" No, no,no...there's no such thing as your husband refuses to take his medicine. So you think you can do what you like once you are outside the hospital is it?There is no excuses. You are his wife, you must force him to take la!"
The wife was looking very ashamed and asked when he can be discharged.
"Specialist only coming later la. You ask him then."
My goodness. He was so impolite. Wait, that is too nice a word, he was just downright rude and inconsiderate. Oh and the article included a part on attributes of the five-star doctor...
Ahem, I wonder how many stars was that doctor?