Integrated Medical Education Resources: 061108L - MEDICAL EDUCATION FOR LEADERSHIP

Background reading material by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule Sr, for Year 1 Semester 1 PPSD session of 08^th November 2006

1.0 LEADERSHIP IN SOCIETY:

Everybody is a leader in one way or another. The physician has a bigger leadership role than ordinary person. The physician has grave responsibilities for the health and welfare of individuals and their families. This is a trust that must be fulfilled. The medical school curriculum and experience should be a lesson in social responsibility and leadership. The medical school takes the blame for not producing ethical leaders who have the guts to change and improve society. The physician gets the reward for any initiative that leads to introduction of something good in the community be it medical or non-medical. The best physician should be a social activist who goes into society and gives leadership in solving underlying social causes of ill-health. The medical profession must be in the forefront of social change and reform. The physician must play the role of a leader in the community. He can lead when in the community and not the hospital. Inside the four walls of the hospital the physician acts as a technician and not a leader. The traditional medical school curriculum does not equip the future physician with leadership skills in the form of courses or actual field experience.

2.0 PHYSICIAN AS A MORAL MODEL:

The physician is a respected opinion leader because of intimate contact with the patients therefore his or her moral values, attitudes, akhlaq, and thoughts must be a model for others. The ideal physician must have the following features: morally upright character, devotion to duty, honesty, and compassion for the poor and the weak,

3.0 LEADERSHIP ON MEDICO-LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES:

There is an increasing interest among physicians in legal and ethical issues that arise due to recent advances in medical technology. The physician is expected to give leadership to patients on ethical issues that arise out of modern biotechnology. He must be prepared as a professional who understands the medical, legal, and ethical issue involved and can explain them to the patients and their families so that they can form an informed decision.

Traditional medical curricula did not prepare the future physician to be a leader in ethics. They gave information about ethics but could not make a physician ethical. Ethics cannot be taught as an academic discipline. It has to be internalized in order to inspire and guide. Teaching ethics in a plural society is not easy because of different religions and belief systems.

4.0 LEADERSHIP IN ADVOCACY FOR THE LESS PRIVILEDGED

The physician comes into contact with people suffering from various physical ailments. He is acutely aware of the relation between illness and social handicaps such as poverty or discrimination. He therefore should be sensitive to the social root causes of disease. He cannot therefore confine himself to treating disease but must seek to remove the root causes by acting as an advocate for the less privileged.

5.0 LEADERSHIP IN ADVOCACY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Violation of human rights is often a direct cause of physical and emotional illness. It is part of preventive medicine that physicians are involved in efforts to ensure that all humans have their tights.