Strategies in the Education of Humane Physicians

Various reforms to change the character of medical educa-tion have been implemented since the 1960s at American..humane7-physician resulted in the incorporation of new sciences in titular point in history. I will illuminate this argu-E- K. (From the Department Of sOciO1OgY, Abo Akademi ment by examing two issues related to recent re-forms in American medical education. The first con-cerns how a “good ” physician has been defined. I will show that the definitions have changed and chronologically resulted in three phases in American medical education where natural sciences, behav-schools. The public demand for a ihe medical curriculum- behavioral sciences in the 1960s and 1970s and humantities in the 19SOs. It is argued that broader structural changes in the American health care system underlie the need for these educational reforms