Cure-oriented versus care-oriented attitudes in medicine

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Attitudes
• Physician Training

Background:

• Patient-centeredness is crucial in healthcare.
• The relationship between cure-oriented and care-oriented attitudes in physicians requires further clarification.
• Existing models may oversimplify the complex interplay of these attitudes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between cure and care attitudes among Belgian medical students.
• To challenge the notion of a single, bipolar dimension for these attitudes.
• To explore the concept of the 'ideal physician' through the lens of cure vs. care.

Main Methods:

• Empirical analysis of attitudes among 88 Belgian medical students.
• Utilized a bipolar rating scale to assess cure-oriented vs. care-oriented views.
• Performed factor analysis to identify underlying attitudinal dimensions.

Main Results:

• The Belgian medical student sample exhibited lower care-oriented attitudes compared to a Dutch sample.
• Factor analysis identified two distinct dimensions: an instrumental (cure) and an affective (care) component.
• These findings challenge a unidimensional view of physician attitudes.

Conclusions:

• A two-dimensional framework (instrumental and affective) better represents physician attitudes.
• This framework can inform the development of targeted attitude-development courses in medical curricula.
• Understanding these dimensions is vital for fostering patient-centered care in medical training.