Medicine in the 21st Century: How Not to Lose the Art of Healing?

Abstract

      In our time of advanced technologies, the Internet, and the enormous acceleration of all areas of humanitarian activity, medical scientists make outstanding discoveries and innovations that revolutionize diagnostic approaches and treatment options, improve patient care, and enrich the way to a healthier world. Is there still a place for the art of medicine in the era of innovations and artificial intelligence?

     Although modern technology in the field of medicine with computerization of every aspect (including electronic medical records, laboratory data entry, images, patients' monitoring systems, etc.), young physicians, while embracing that innovation, should be trained in the development of clinical thinking and the establishment of personalized connections to the patients. Young physicians should be taught to adopt the ability to see, hear, and feel a patient's problems, formulate optimal management, and be empathetic to the patient's emotions and suffering. 

     Communication skills are a key to successful medical practice and a part of "the Introduction to Clinic" course in almost all medical schools, but a substantial lack of time in clinical settings creates new challenges for communication between medical students, clinical teachers, and patients in medical schools. In many areas around the world, including Ukraine, this problem has been aggravated by wars, epidemics, pandemics, and natural disasters. At the same time, developing clinical observational skills remains an integral part of medical education and the basis of medical art. The art of a careful physical exam should not be lost behind a computer screen.

     Dnipro State Medical University has traditions of integrating centuries-old world historical experiences of teaching the art of healing into the philosophical concept of forming the critical clinical thinking of medical students. Our medical school has incorporated "diagnosing the canvas" into its curriculum. A thematic gallery of diagnostic symptoms and signs from great artists of all times and peoples has been created, expanding the young physicians' educational horizons in clinical thinking, empathy, and mercy.