| Medicine is the science and art of
healing. Medicine is a science because it is based on knowledge
gained through careful study and experimentation. It is
an art because it depends on how skillfully doctors and
other medical workers apply this knowledge when dealing
with patients.The goals of medicine are to save lives, to
relieve suffering, and to maintain the dignity of ill individuals.
For this reason, medicine has long been one of the most
respected professions. Many thousands of men and women who
work in the medical profession spend their lives caring
for the sick. When disaster strikes, hospital workers rush
emergency aid to the injured. When epidemics threaten, doctors
and nurses work to prevent the spread of disease. Researchers
continually search for better ways of fighting disease.
Human beings have suffered from illnesses since they first
appeared on the earth about 21/2 million years ago. Throughout
most of this time, they knew little about how the body works
or what causes disease. Treatment was based largely on superstition
and guesswork.
Medicine has made tremendous progress in the last several
hundred years. Today, it is possible to cure, control, or
prevent hundreds of diseases. People live longer than they
did in the past as a result of new drugs, machines, and
surgical operations. Medical progress in the control of
infectious diseases, improvements in health care for mothers
and children, and better nutrition, sanitation, and living
conditions have given people a longer life expectancy. In
1900, most people did not live past the age of 50. Today,
people in the industrial world have an average life span
of about 75 years.
As medicine has become more scientific, it has also become
more complicated. In the past, doctors cared for patients
almost single-handed. Patients received treatment at home
for most kinds of illnesses. Today, doctors no longer work
by themselves. Instead, they head medical teams made up
of nurses, laboratory workers, and many other skilled professionals.
The care provided by such teams cannot generally be started
at home. As a result health centres, clinics, and hospitals
have become the chief centres for medical care.
Medical care is often considered part of the larger field
of health care. In addition to medical care, health care
includes the services provided by dentists, clinical psychologists,
social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists,
and other professionals in various fields of physical and
mental health. This article deals chiefly with the kind
of service provided by doctors and other members of the
medical team.
Medicine has made tremendous progress in the last several
hundred years. Today, it is possible to cure, control, or
prevent hundreds of diseases. People live longer than they
did in the past as a result of new drugs, machines, and
surgical operations. Medical progress in the control of
infectious diseases, improvements in health care for mothers
and children, and better nutrition, sanitation, and living
conditions have given people a longer life expectancy. In
1900, most people did not live past the age of 50. Today,
people in the industrial world have an average life span
of about 75 years.
As medicine has become more scientific, it has also become
more complicated. In the past, doctors cared for patients
almost single-handed. Patients received treatment at home
for most kinds of illnesses. Today, doctors no longer work
by themselves. Instead, they head medical teams made up
of nurses, laboratory workers, and many other skilled professionals.
The care provided by such teams cannot generally be started
at home. As a result health centres, clinics, and hospitals
have become the chief centres for medical care.
Medical care is often considered part of the larger field
of health care. In addition to medical care, health care
includes the services provided by dentists, clinical psychologists,
social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists,
and other professionals in various fields of physical and
mental health. This article deals chiefly with the kind
of service provided by doctors and other members of the
medical team.
Improving the quality of medical care
The role of medical organizations. A number of national
and international organizations work to improve the quality
of medical care. These organizations encourage medical education
and research, help standardize medical practice, and enforce
codes of professional conduct.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is the chief international
medical organization. It promotes public health programmes
and the exchange of medical knowledge. WHO is especially
dedicated to improving the quality of medical care in developing
countries.
| Most developing countries have a shortage
of doctors and hospitals, especially in rural areas.
Specially trained personnel assess local health problems,
taking into account environment, climate, nutrition,
and prevalence of disease. A medical care programme
includes the provision of doctors, nurses, visiting
clinics, and access to hospital. Local health care assistants
are trained to take on many routine tasks. Immunization
campaigns, care of pregnant women, and clean water are
some of the services needed to help people remain healthy. |
 |
Health for All. World Health Organization
(WHO) delegates from 134 countries met at Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan,
in 1978, to discuss the health of the world. Noting the
unequal distribution of health care, they declared a goal
of Health for All by the year 2000. This aims to achieve
a level of health that will permit all people to lead a
socially and economically productive life.
Countries as far apart as Bangladesh, Canada, Finland,
Thailand, and the United Kingdom are adopting the principles
of health for all. Communities take on the responsibilities
for their own health care. The Mexican Constitution now
guarantees access to health care among the rights of its
citizens.
The role of medical research. Progress in medicine depends
largely on the work of medical research. Medical researchers
strive to increase our knowledge of (1) how the healthy
body works; (2) how it is disturbed by disease; and (3)
how disease can be prevented or cured. Some medical researchers
are doctors, but others are purely research scientists.
Much medical research is done in laboratories. But doctors
also carry out research by observing groups of patients.
Most medical discoveries provide clues to only part of
the solution of a difficult medical problem. As a result,
the problem is solved only after years of work by many people.
But researchers sometimes make dramatic discoveries. An
outstanding example of a dramatic discovery was the development
of an effective polio vaccine by the American research scientist
Jonas E. Salk in the early 1950's. For more information
on medical research, see the article SCIENCE (The history
of science).
Medical education. Standards and requirements of medical
education are similar in almost every country around the
world. Medical studies are very demanding, requiring increasing
amounts of material to be learned in a limited time. In
addition, students must acquire the skills needed for performing
a physical examination and history-taking. After gaining
bedside experience, the trainee can apply theoretical knowledge
to problems.
All medical students begin their education at university.
During five to seven years at the university, they progress
through basic sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics),
structure and function of the body (anatomy, physiology,
and biochemistry), and the disease processes (pathology
and microbiology). In the final clinical years, they gain
experience seeing patients in hospitals and clinics.
The basic training ends with a year's hospital residency
working in different areas. These areas include general
medicine and surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics.
On graduating, newly qualified doctors are admitted to the
national medical register.
Further theoretical and clinical training is usually based
in teaching hospitals. Academic staff and advanced facilities
enable postgraduates to specialize in any area of medicine.
General practitioners undertake at least three years postgraduate
training.
Colleges and associations exist which represent the major
specialities. They are made up of leading members of the
medical profession. These independent bodies maintain standards
by administering examinations to candidates who have completed
their specialist training. They promote research and act
as a forum for the exchange of information and ideas among
specialists from all over the world.
In the case that you have a doubt
on a something listed here or want to know something that
has not been mentioned please use our Reference
Boards .
|
