Download Medicine

EXPERIENTIAL TOOL
Medicine
Personal Orientation Project
(POP)
MEDICINE
Activity Guide
This activity guide was created in collaboration with experts in the field and is intended to be used in the
classroom under teacher supervision. The information it contains is not meant to be exhaustive.
The external links mentioned in this guide may no longer be active or may direct you to content that is
outdated or inappropriate. Please check these links before using them with students, as we cannot guarantee
they will work. Moreover, the Commission scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin does not endorse nor shall be
held responsible for the reliability or accuracy of these external links or for the consequences of their use.
In addition, the Commission scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin does not accept responsibility for the
erroneous interpretation or improper use of this activity guide.
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Document number: 1
Document version: 5.0
Year: 2013
Property of the Commission scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin
i
M E D I C I N E
Table of Contents
General information
1
Credits
3
I NTRODUCTI ON
5
ACTIVI TY
1
Medical fields and specialties
ACTIVI TY
6
2
Anatomy
9
ACTIVI TY
3
First medical appointment
ACTIVI TY
4
Clinical case study
ACTIVI TY
22
5
Anesthesiology
ACTIVI TY
11
24
6
What makes a good doctor?
28
CONCLUSI ON
32
ANSWER
KEY
Activity 1
33
Activity 2
34
Activity 3
35
Activity 4
37
Activity 5
38
APPENDI CES
A – Physical examination
40
B – CanMEDS 2005 Physician
Competency Framework
43
ii
General information
List of materials
The following is a list of all the materials and resources required to complete this tool kit
on medicine:
 Medicine Activity Guide
 Multimedia computer







Stethoscope
Scale (from the Professional Sports tool kit)
Medical measuring tape
BMI calculator
Rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls (as needed)
Sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff)
Websites for activities
Heart Disease Risk Calculator
http://liensppo.qc.ca
Inner Body
www.innerbody.com
TeensHealth
http://kidshealth.org/teen/
WebMD®
www.webmd.com
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
Other recommended websites
Medline Plus®
http://medlineplus.gov
National Geographic Science and Space
http://science.nationalgeographic.com
POP Index
www.repertoireppo.qc.ca/en/
Videos
Medicine video clips
http://liensppo.qc.ca
Files and other resources
None
Note that all the links mentioned in this section are listed on the POP Links website
at http://liensppo.qc.ca in the “Medicine” section.
4
Credits
French conception and adaptation
Patrice Laflamme, MD
Physician (activities 1 to 4 and 6)
Pedagogical Validation Committee for POP Activity Guides
English conception
Suzanne Bennett, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology (Activity 5)
English translation and adaptation
Marsha Gouett
Translator
Elizabeth Hinton
Consultant, RN, BSc (Activity 5)
Avis Anderson
Researcher, editor and final reviser
Robert Costain
Video narrator
Pedagogical Validation Committee for POP Activity Guides
Images
The Commission scolaire Beauce-Etchemin logo appearing throughout this guide is
copyright protected with all rights reserved and is therefore excluded from the Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada licence.
The
cover
page
photo
was
uploaded
by
user
reway2007
(“02 – December – 2011 – X-Ray,” Flickr®, accessed January 22, 2013,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reway2007/6482441277/). It is under Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic licence.
The syringe at the beginning of Activity 1 was created by user qtipd (“Syringe,” Open
Clip Art Library, created December 5, 2006, http://openclipart.org/detail/1887/syringeby-qtipd). It has been released into the public domain.
The diagram at the beginning of Activity 2 was created by Pearson Scott
Foresman (“Backbone [PSF],” Wikimedia Commons, last modified June 13, 2010,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Backbone_%28PSF%29.png). It has been
released into the public domain.
5
Images (cont.)
The photo at the beginning of Activity 3 is a work of the United States Federal
Government (“Blood Pressure 2,” Wikimedia Commons, last modified April 25, 2010,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BloodPressure2.jpg). It is in the public domain.
The photo used as Figure 3.1 was taken by the Ann Arbor
District
Library
(“Stethoscope,”
Flickr®,
accessed
April
25,
2013,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aadl/7018024745/). It is under Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic licence.
The clip art of pills and a bottle at the beginning of Activity 4 was created by user
molumen (“Pills and Bottle,” Open Clip Art Library, created December 29, 2006,
http://openclipart.org/detail/2471/pills-and-bottle-by-molumen-2471). It has been
released into the public domain.
The photo of an anesthesia machine at the beginning of Activity 5 was taken by
Dr. Suzanne Bennett and is under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialShareAlike 2.5 Canada licence.
The photo at the beginning of Activity 6 was taken by user HujiStat
(“Stethoscope-2,” Wikimedia Commons, last modified October 11, 2009,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stethoscope-2.jpg). It has been released into the
public domain.
The photo used as Figure A.1 in Appendix A is the work of a U.S. Air Force staff
sergeant (“Radial pulse,” Wikimedia Commons, last modified February 7, 2009,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Radial_pulse.jpg). It is in the public domain.
Other copyrighted material
The contents of Appendix B are the property of the Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada (http://rcpsc.medical.org) and are excerpted from The CanMEDS
2005 Physician Competency Framework. This material is modified and used with
permission. It is copyright protected with all rights reserved and is therefore excluded
from the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada licence.
6
Introduction
Many children dream of becoming doctors when they grow up. Despite the fact that some
may be afraid of anyone in a white coat, most will “treat” their teddy bears or dolls by
taking their temperature or giving them injections using their toy doctor kit.
However, few people really know the medical profession well. (Keep in mind that what
you see on TV may not be representative of what really happens in the field of medicine!)
Medicine is a very diverse discipline: some doctors will pursue a specialty and practise in
a hospital setting; some will choose private practice; some will choose to practise in a
medical clinic; while others will become part of a research group.
The activities in this guide will give you the opportunity to discover the medical
profession and will briefly introduce you to the specialty of anesthesiology. Enjoy your
exploration!
7
Activity
1
Medical fields and specialties
Medicine is not one homogeneous discipline, but rather a series of fields and specialties:
general medicine, surgical specialties, medical specialties, preventive medicine,
pathology, etc. Most medical specialties (such as cardiology) have an equivalent surgical
field (in this case, cardiac surgery). Thus, a patient with a heart problem will be referred
to a cardiologist to be treated mainly with medication or by implanting coronary stents.1
The patient may also be referred to a cardiac surgeon if heart bypass surgery is required.
Sometimes, a medical specialist (such as a pulmonologist) will have to consult with a
surgical specialist (in this case, a thoracic surgeon) to make a precise diagnosis (such as
lung cancer) and to decide on the best treatment for the patient. Other specialties are
comprehensive or have very specific functions (e.g. general medicine, anesthesiology,
pathology, etc.).
This activity will introduce you to several medical specialties. Consult the following
websites to help you complete the exercise:
 WebMD®
www.webmd.com
 Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
The WebMD® website provides information on numerous health problems and diseases,
while the Wikipedia website provides good definitions of each of the medical specialties
presented.
1. A coronary stent is “a tube placed in the coronary arteries that supply the heart, to keep the arteries open
in the treatment of coronary heart disease.” (“Coronary stent,” Wikipedia, last modified December 16, 2011,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronary_stent.)
8
Exercise
In each of the tables below, match the appropriate specialist in the right-hand column
with the health problem or issue in the left-hand column. The appropriate specialist is the
one who would be most likely to diagnose, follow up or treat this type of problem or
issue. For example, a patient with kidney failure would be referred to a nephrologist.
Series A
Health problem/issue
Kidney failure
Acute appendicitis
Emphysema
Inflammatory bowel disease
Lung cancer
Prostate cancer
Answer
C
Specialist
A. Gastroenterologist
B. General surgeon
C. Nephrologist
D. Pulmonologist
E. Thoracic surgeon
F. Urologist
Series B
Health problem/issue
Angina
Brain tumour
Coronary thrombosis
Diabetes
Leukemia
Parkinson’s disease
Answer
Specialist
A. Cardiac surgeon
B. Cardiologist
C. Endocrinologist
D. Hematologist-oncologist
E. Neurosurgeon
F. Neurologist
Series C
Health problem/issue
Alzheimer’s disease
Cataracts
Disease prevention
Infantile failure to thrive
Hip fracture
Tonsillitis
Answer
Specialist
A. Community health specialist
B. Geriatrician
C. Ophthalmologist
D. Otorhinolaryngologist (ORL)
E. Orthopedic surgeon
F. Pediatrician
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Series D
Health problem/issue
Biopsy
Chronic pain
Depression
Infection
Melanoma
Pre-eclampsia
Answer
Specialist
A. Anesthesiologist
B. Dermatologist
C. Infectious disease specialist
D. Obstetrician
E. Pathologist
F. Psychiatrist
When you are finished, compare your answers to the ones found in the Answer Key.
10
Activity
2
Anatomy
Doctors must possess a thorough knowledge of human anatomy. They must be able to
correctly identify all the parts of a patient’s body regardless of the patient’s age, sex,
weight, etc. Correct anatomical knowledge greatly influences the accuracy of a diagnosis.
Your own anatomical knowledge has been acquired during science and technology
classes as well as through television shows, books, magazines, websites, etc. You have a
general knowledge of anatomy that is sufficient for most people. However, a doctor must
possess more in-depth anatomical knowledge. During the following exercise, you will
discover anatomical structures that few people without advanced medical or scientific
training could identify.
Consult the following websites to help you complete this exercise:
 Inner Body
www.innerbody.com
 TeensHealth
http://kidshealth.org/teen/
Click on “Your Body.”
 Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
For more information, you can also consult these websites:
 Medline Plus®
http://medlineplus.gov
 National Geographic Science and Space
http://science.nationalgeographic.com
Click on “Health and Human Body.”
 WebMD®
www.webmd.com
11
Exercise
Try to identify the anatomical structures listed below. Indicate which major body system
each structure belongs to and jot down your observations (what the structure looks like,
where it is located, etc.). See if you can locate each structure on your own body.
Anatomical Structure
Major Body System
Observations
Adrenal gland
Anterior tibial artery
Cerebellum
Cochlea
Gallbladder
Mandible
Masseter
Tensor fasciae latae
Thoracic duct
Ureter
When you are finished, compare your answers to the ones found in the Answer Key. This
was not an easy exercise, so do not worry if you were not able to pinpoint the exact
location of each anatomical structure!
12
Activity
3
First medical appointment
Rapport is one of the most important characteristics of human interaction. It can be
described as being “in sync” or “on the same wavelength” as the person with whom you
are talking. Developing a rapport with someone means encouraging an open exchange of
communication (both verbal and nonverbal) as well as sharing positive feedback.
During this activity, you will assume the role of a family physician and prepare for an
interview with a new patient. You will also become familiar with the principles involved
in reviewing the human body’s major systems and experiment with some elements of the
physical examination on a classmate. In addition to establishing a rapport with your
patient, it is important that you maintain a professional demeanour at all times.
What you will need to complete this activity:







Stethoscope
Scale (from the Professional Sports tool kit)
Medical measuring tape
BMI calculator
Rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls (as needed)
Sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff)
Exercise 1: Medical history
Your new patient will arrive shortly for his or her annual medical checkup. Since this is
the first time you are meeting this patient, you will first need to ask him or her a few
questions to establish a medical history. The medical history or anamnesis allows the
doctor to trace the patient’s medical past and find out about lifestyle habits, family
medical history, etc. Answer the following questions to help you plan how you would
conduct such an interview.
13
1) A doctor should develop a rapport with his or her patient before beginning to ask
questions about the patient’s medical history. What could you do to put your patient at
ease and establish a comfortable yet professional relationship with him or her?
2) Take some time to reflect on what questions you should ask to get to know your
patient better medically before asking about his or her specific health problems. For
each section in the table below, list two or three questions that will allow you to
establish your patient’s medical history.
Medical History
Questions
Age and family status
Personal medical history
Family medical history
Lifestyle habits
Other
14
3) Compare your questions to those found in the Answer Key. Did you ask similar
questions? Would you have ended up with a similar medical history? Explain.
Exercise 2: Review of systems
The next step in your role as family physician would be to conduct what is called a
review of systems (ROS), also known as a functional inquiry. An ROS is an inventory of
the major body systems obtained through a series of questions that identify signs or
symptoms the patient has experienced. Once you have identified the symptoms your
patient presents, you will then be able to match them to a particular health problem.
1) Come up with two or three questions for each of the body systems listed in the table
on the following page. Record these questions in the right-hand column of the table.
To help you with this exercise, feel free to consult the following websites (or any other
relevant website):
 Inner Body
www.innerbody.com
 TeensHealth
http://kidshealth.org/teen/
Click on “Your Body.”
 WebMD®
www.webmd.com
 Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
15
Body System
Questions
Have you gained or lost a significant amount of
weight recently?
General
Integumentary (skin, hair,
nails)
Eyes/Ears/Nose/Mouth/Throat
Cardiovascular
Respiratory
Digestive
Urinary/reproductive
Musculoskeletal
Neurological
Allergic/Immunologic/
Lymphatic/Endocrine
16
2) Compare your questions to the ones found in the Answer Key. What are your
observations?
Exercise 3: Physical examination
Once you have established your patient’s medical history and conducted an ROS, the
next step is to perform a physical examination. (For the purpose of this activity, you
prepared the questions for the medical history and ROS without actually asking your
patient these questions.) Ask a classmate, friend or teacher to play the role of your
patient. Keep in mind that, as a doctor, you are bound by doctor-patient confidentiality.
This means that the information your patient shares with you must remain strictly
confidential.
17
Step 1
Before you start the examination, take some time to handle the various instruments at
your disposal (medical measuring tape, BMI calculator, stethoscope and
sphygmomanometer). See if you can identify the parts of a stethoscope using Figure 3.1.
Earpieces
Bell
Diaphragm
Figure 3.1: Stethoscope
Step 2
Measure your patient’s weight and height. Normally, a doctor would use a balance beam
scale to weigh his or her patients.2 Since you do not have access to one, you can use the
scale found in the Professional Sports tool kit, if available. Otherwise, ask your patient
how much he or she weighs.
To measure your patient’s height, ask him or her to stand up straight against a wall, with
his or her heels, buttocks and upper back pressed against it. Make sure your patient’s feet
are firmly planted and that his or her head is completely straight. Use a pencil to make a
mark on the wall, making sure the pencil is even on the top of your patient’s head. With
the measuring tape flat against the wall, measure from the floor to the mark. Erase the
pencil mark once you are finished.
Record the results of your examination on the form found on page 18.
2. If you are interested, you can watch a video explaining how to use a balance beam scale. Visit the POP Links site at
http://liensppo.qc.ca and click on “Medicine.” Scroll down to the video entitled “Measure your patient’s weight and
height.”
18
Step 3
Visit the POP Links website at http://liensppo.qc.ca and click on “Medicine.” Scroll
down to the “Videos” section. Watch each of the following videos in turn and follow the
instructions in each video:





Measure around your patient’s waist
Calculate your patient’s body mass index (BMI)
Measure your patient’s pulse
Take your patient’s blood pressure
Listen to your patient’s heart and lungs
Record the results of each examination on the form found on page 18. Remember that
your notes should be clear enough for another doctor to understand them when reading
this patient’s file.
Consult Figure 3.1 and Appendix A for help with any of these instructions.
Note that, although this is not mentioned in the videos, you should clean the
earpieces of the stethoscope with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol before
and after each use.
Please treat the medical equipment with care. If necessary, ask your teacher for
assistance.
When you are finished, answer the questions on pages 19 to 21.
19
POP Medical Clinic
Patient’s name: ___________________________________
Date of consultation: _______________________________
Notes
20
Step 4
Answer the following questions:
1) Were you able to establish a rapport with your patient? Explain.
2) Were you able to complete all the steps of the physical examination (steps 2 and 3)?
Why or why not?
21
3) Were you comfortable handling the medical equipment? Explain any difficulties you
encountered.
4) What was your favourite part of this exercise? Explain.
22
5) After completing this activity, do you feel you have what it takes to be a family
physician? Explain.
23
Activity
4
Clinical case study
This activity will help you become familiar with the diagnostic procedures used by
doctors in their daily practice. First read the case study and then try to answer the
questions that follow. You may want to consult the following websites:
 WebMD®
www.webmd.com
 Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org
Exercise
Mr. Smith is a 51-year-old teacher. His mother is in good health, but his father died of a
heart attack at age 58. He is diabetic, obese, a smoker and sedentary. He comes to see you
and tells you that when he climbs the stairs to get to his classroom on the third floor, he
sometimes experiences chest pains and shortness of breath.
1) What is the most probable diagnosis in your opinion?
a) Asthma
b) Anxiety
c) Angina pectoris
d) Lack of physical exercise
2) What are Mr. Smith’s risk factors for developing heart disease?
24
3) Name another risk factor that could be determined by doing a blood test.
Visit the POP Links website at http://liensppo.qc.ca and click on “Medicine” and then on
“Heart Disease Risk Calculator” (in the “Websites for Activities” section) to answer the
following questions. When you are finished, compare your answers to the ones found in
the Answer Key.
4) Using the risk calculator and the following data, calculate Mr. Smith’s risk of having a
heart attack in the next 10 years.
 Total cholesterol: 6.5 mmol/L
 HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol): 0.85 mmol/L
 Systolic blood pressure: 170 mm/Hg
5) You convince Mr. Smith to quit smoking and you treat him with medication. As a
result, by the following year, his blood test results have improved as follows:
 Total cholesterol: 4.0 mmol/L
 HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol): 1.1 mmol/L
 Systolic blood pressure: 124 mm/Hg
Recalculate Mr. Smith’s risk of having a heart attack in the next 10 years. Have these
changes made a significant difference?
Congratulations, you are a good apprentice doctor! Now all you have to do is convince
Mr. Smith to start exercising and lose a few pounds.
25
Activity
5
Anesthesiology
As previously mentioned, medicine is a vast and varied discipline. This activity focuses
on one particular medical specialty: anesthesiology.
The role of the anesthesiologist in the operating room is to:
 medically assess the patient throughout surgery;
 monitor and control the patient’s vital functions, including heart rate and rhythm,
breathing, blood pressure, body temperature and body fluid balance3;
 control the patient’s pain and level of consciousness to make conditions ideal for a
safe and successful surgery.
The anesthesiologist must maintain the patient’s fluid balance intraoperatively (during
surgery) to keep the patient safe. The following series of exercises will allow you to
estimate the fluid requirements for your patient, Ms. Jones, by calculating her normal
fluid requirements, pre-existing fluid deficit and surgical fluid losses. Ms. Jones is
scheduled for an appendectomy and has not eaten or drunk anything in the last eight
hours. She weighs 70 kg.
Exercise 1: Normal fluid requirements
Based on your patient’s weight, calculate her normal fluid requirements, assuming that:
 For the first 10 kg of the patient’s weight, the fluid requirements are 4 ml/kg/hour.
 For the next 20 kg of the patient’s weight, the fluid requirements are 2 ml/kg/hour.
 For each additional kilogram of body weight, the fluid requirements are
1 ml/kg/hour.
3. “When water intake equals water loss, the body is in fluid balance.” (Crystal Heather Kaczkowski,
“Fluid Balance,” The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing & Allied Health, Thomson Gale, 2002,
http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/fluid-balance.) “In an acute hospital setting, fluid balance is monitored
carefully. [. . .] If fluid loss is greater than fluid gain [for example if the patient loses a lot of blood], the patient is said
to be in negative fluid balance. In this case, fluid is often given intravenously to compensate for the loss.” (“Fluid
balance,” Wikipedia, last modified September 4, 2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_balance.)
26
What are your patient’s total normal fluid requirements per hour?
Exercise 2: Pre-existing fluid deficit
The pre-existing fluid deficit is a result of the patient not having eaten or drunk anything
for several hours (in this case, eight). Calculate your patient’s pre-existing fluid deficit
using the following steps:
Step 1
Multiply the consecutive number of hours that the patient has not eaten or drunk anything
by the normal fluid requirements calculated in the previous exercise.
What is your patient’s pre-existing fluid deficit?
Step 2
Half of the pre-existing fluid deficit is replaced over the first hour during surgery. The
remaining half of the pre-existing fluid deficit is replaced evenly over the next two hours.
How much pre-existing fluid deficit is replaced in the first hour of surgery and in each of
the next two hours?
27
Exercise 3: Surgical fluid loss replacement
Surgical fluid losses result from redistributive and evaporative losses and blood loss.
Calculate the surgical fluid losses for your patient, Ms. Jones, using the following steps:
Step 1
Redistributive and evaporative surgical losses are related to wound size and extent of
surgical dissection. Calculate the amount of fluid required to replace these losses using
the weight of the patient, assuming that:
 Minor surgery (hernia repair) would require an additional 2 ml/kg/hour.
 Moderate surgery (appendectomy) would require an additional 4 ml/kg/hour.
 Major surgery (bowel resection) would require an additional 6 ml/kg/hour.
How much fluid does your patient need to replace redistributive and evaporative losses?
28
Step 2
Blood loss replacement is an estimate of how much blood the patient has lost based on
measuring the blood volume in suction canisters and sponges. Blood loss replacement can
be achieved with blood products4 and either a crystalloid solution (a balanced salt
solution that can diffuse through a semi-permeable membrane) or a colloid solution (fluid
that is too large to diffuse through a semi-permeable membrane). You have decided to
use a crystalloid solution in Ms. Jones’ case. Assuming that she has lost 100 ml of blood
and that:
 1 ml of blood product is required for every 1 ml of blood loss
 3 ml of crystalloid solution is required for every 1 ml of blood loss
How much blood product and crystalloid solution are needed to replace your patient’s
blood loss?
Compare your answers to these exercises to the answers found in the Answer Key.
In your role as an anesthesiologist, you have had to consider many variables and perform
several calculations to ensure the safety of your patient throughout her surgery.
Congratulations on a job well done!
4. “A blood product is any component of the blood [that] is collected from a donor for use in a blood transfusion.
Whole blood is uncommonly used in transfusion medicine at present; most blood products consist of specific processed
components such as red blood cells, blood plasma, or platelets.” (“Blood product,” Wikipedia, last modified August 13,
2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_product.)
29
Activity
6
What makes a good doctor?
By now you have probably already realized that being a good doctor requires more than
up-to-date medical knowledge and the ability to prescribe the right medication. In 1996,
the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada adopted an innovative
framework for medical education called the Canadian Medical Education Directives for
Specialists (CanMEDS),5 which identified the core competencies required of all
physicians to meet the needs of the Canadian public. Although the major role of a
physician is to be a medical expert, in order to be considered competent, physicians must
also fulfill six other roles:






Communicator
Collaborator
Manager
Health advocate
Scholar
Professional
For more information about the seven roles of Canadian physicians, refer to Appendix B.
5. This framework was reviewed and updated in 2005 (J.R. Frank [ed.], The CanMEDS 2005 Physician
Competency Framework, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, accessed November 29, 2011,
http://rcpsc.medical.org/canmeds/bestpractices/framework_e.pdf).
30
Exercise
Step 1
What strengths and characteristics do you possess that you think could help you become a
good doctor?
1) _____________________________
2) _____________________________
3) _____________________________
4) _____________________________
5) _____________________________
Step 2
There are many ways to define what makes a good doctor. When a group of researchers
from the Medical College of Georgia in the U.S. conducted focus groups with a first-year
class of American medical students, they found that students identified six traits that
characterize good doctors. According to these students, good doctors:6




Have good people skills (are able to relate to patients, care about them)
Partner with patients (listen to patients and work with them to improve their health)
Are enthusiastic (like what they are doing, are comfortable treating patients)
Go beyond the call of duty (recognize that being a physician is more than a 9-to-5
job)
 Are competent (possess thorough knowledge and the ability to complete necessary
interventions)
 Are decisive leaders (are willing and able to make definite choices)
6. R.A. Gillies et al., “Why a Medical Career and What Makes a Good Doctor? Beliefs of Incoming
United States Medical Students,” Education for Health, 2009, accessed November 29, 2011,
http://www.educationforhealth.net/publishedarticles/article_print_331.pdf.
31
On the other hand, in response to the question “What’s a good doctor and how do you
make one?” C.A. Rizo, A.R. Jahad and M. Enkin, from the Centre for Global eHealth
Innovation in Toronto, identified the following eight things that good doctors should do:7
 “Respect people, healthy or ill, regardless of who they are;”
 “Support patients and their loved ones when and where they are needed;”
 “Promote health as well as treat disease;”
 “Always ask courteous questions, let people talk, and listen to them carefully;”
 “Give unbiased advice, let people participate actively in all decisions related to their
health and health care, assess each situation carefully, and help whatever the
situation;”
 “Use evidence as a tool, not as a determinant of practice; humbly accept death as an
important part of life; and help people make the best possible arrangements when
death is close;”
 “Work cooperatively with other members of the healthcare team;”
 “Be proactive advocates for their patients, mentors for other health professionals, and
ready to learn from others, regardless of their age, role, or status.”
7. C.A. Rizo, A.R. Jahad and M. Enkin, “Doctors Should Be Good Companions for People” in the
“Letters” section, British Medical Journal 325, 7366 (2002): 711, accessed November 29, 2011,
http://www.bmj.com/content/325/7366/711.full.
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1) Do you think you have what it takes to become a good doctor? Explain.
2) If you lack some of the doctor’s traits or skills mentioned in this activity, how could
you go about acquiring them?
3) Do you disagree with any of the doctor’s traits or skills mentioned in this activity?
What other traits or skills would you add to these lists? Explain your answers.
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Conclusion
This activity guide gave you the opportunity to become more familiar with the vast field
of medicine. Did you enjoy the activities? If so, why not deepen your exploration of this
field by meeting and talking with someone at your local health and social service centre
(CSSS).
Not only is medicine a vast field with a multitude of specialties and work settings, but
there are also many related professions that may be of interest to you. These include:
acupuncturist, addiction counsellor, dentist,8 dietitian, environmental biologist, health
care administrator, health records professional, homeopath, nurse,8 midwife, naturopath,
osteopath, paramedic, personal care attendant, pharmacist, physiotherapist, speechlanguage pathologist, veterinarian and more. Keep exploring until you find the right field
for you!
8. If you are interested in a career in dentistry or nursing, you can try out the Dentistry and Nursing tool kits, which
should be available in your classroom. (The activity guides for these tool kits are also available on the POP Index
website at www.repertoireppo.qc.ca/en.)
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Inventory







Stethoscope
Scale (from the Professional Sports tool kit)
Medical measuring tape
BMI calculator
Rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls (as needed)
Sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff)
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