LETTER
More To Learn from Mary's Story
Emily A. Blumberg
1 September 1993 | Volume 119 Issue 5 | Pages 441-442
TO THE EDITOR:
Dr. Southwick's article [1] poignantly described a not uncommon, major conflict in the "practice" of academic medicine. I noted a similar pattern of attending non-involvement when my father was critically ill at a major oncology center. The center had a policy that made it almost impossible for a family member to speak with the attending who was nominally in charge of the patient's case, even when that family member was an attending at another academic center. On one occasion, I had to completely misrepresent my identity just to speak with the fellow covering the service during a crisis. The major academic centers are primarily responsible for training our country's physicians, many of whom go into the community to practice medicine. The current emphasis on generating grants and contributions to the medical literature is discouraging us from teaching students and residents the importance of providing responsible and concerned care to those patients who trust us to make them well.
1. Southwick F. Who was caring for Mary? Ann Intern Med. 1993; 118: 146-8.
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