Reference no: EM133826852

Assignment: Health and Medical

Answer the questions below in an 8 to 10 pages paper. Maximum page limit is 25 pages.

William Osler delivered his speech, "Aequanimitas," to the graduating class of medical students at the University of Pennsylvania on May 1, 1889. It was a farewell address in a second way, because at the end of this speech he announced that he would be leaving the University of Pennsylvania to become Physician-in-Chief at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, then a new hospital designed to be the most "modern" hospital of its day.

Medical education at this time was just beginning to be formalized into the university-based course of study that included both basic sciences and clinical sciences. It eventually came to replace the more informal (and highly individual) apprenticeship training of the earlier decades of the 1800s. Osler's, prose is full of references to mythology, poetry, and the events of his day. Many of these are explained in the footnotes. It isn't necessary to understand all of them in order to follow Osler's main themes.

I. Use your own words to state Osler's definition of aequanimitas (you can quote him as well; just be sure to state your own understanding of that definition-this will become your own working definition in the paper that follows). Answer all parts i-iv.

i. Does his discussion of aequanimitas agree with or differ from the characterization of professionalism in medicine that has been our focus this semester?

ii. Then show how Osler's concept can be used to describe the experiences of three of the writers whose work you've studied in this course. You may substitute an experience of your own for one of the examples, but be clear in your presentation how that example is relevant to your discussion. With all three examples, be as specific as you can. Don't just retell the events; rather, use pertinent details and short quotations that allow you to analyze what aequanimitas contributes in each scenario.

iii. Would you propose to modify or qualify Osler's position based on these readings? Justify your answer.

iv. Finally, is Osler's vision of aequanimitas still relevant today? Justify your answer.

II. Using the diagram of the Scope of Medicine explain to your parents or friends the principles embodied within this course, The Scope of Medicine.

III. E.O.Wilson argues that everyone who has read Consilience should be able to answer the following question: What is the relation between science and the humanities and how is it important? Comment on Wilson's statement in no more than 1 page.