Should Love be Explicitly Stated as a Core Enabling Concept in the Medical Curriculum?

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Humanistic Medicine
• Healthcare Quality

Background:

• Modern healthcare often prioritizes metrics over humanistic qualities.
• The "secret of quality" in healthcare relies on ethical commitment.
• Potential pitfalls of incorporating 'love' require careful consideration.

Purpose of the Study:

• Advocate for explicit integration of 'love' into medical curricula.
• Propose a framework for implementing this concept effectively.
• Counterbalance the limitations of a purely metrics-driven medical model.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of 'love' in a medical context.
• Review of ethical frameworks (Donabedian, Lacanian critique).
• Proposal for training methods like reflective practice and humanistic assessment.

Main Results:

• Defining 'love' as a multidimensional ethical commitment (empathy, compassion, respect).
• Identifying 'love' as essential for quality healthcare.
• Outlining implementation strategies to avoid narcissistic illusions.

Conclusions:

• Explicitly integrating love into medical training is necessary for quality care.
• Professional boundaries and specific training are key to successful implementation.
• Humanistic assessment should complement, not be replaced by, measurable metrics.