Patients' perspectives on physicians' roles: implications for curricular reform

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Patient-Centered Care
• Physician Professionalism

Background:

• Undergraduate medical curricula are evolving to emphasize physician roles.
• The conceptual framework of physicianship requires alignment with patient expectations.
• Understanding patient perspectives is crucial for effective curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient views on a new medical curriculum framework.
• To assess patient understanding of physician roles (healer and professional).
• To inform medical program development using patient insights.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study using semistructured interviews.
• Data collected from 58 patients at an academic medical center in 2006.
• Adapted interpretive description design employed.

Main Results:

• Patient-doctor lexicon for ideal behaviors showed low concordance with faculty definitions.
• Physician listening skills were highly valued; 'professionalism' and 'healer' had mixed connotations.
• Patients felt threatened when treated impersonally ('like a number').

Conclusions:

• Significant divergence exists between patient and physician views on core curriculum concepts.
• Patient perspectives offer valuable insights for medical curriculum design.
• Further research is needed on professionalism and patient-centered communication.