Much of the social change in medicine seems to have been
helped along by the shifting role of social workers and social
teaching. The flexibility of the teaching in this area has allowed
mobility in thought and change.
The ridgid structure of social teaching in medicine, and the
paucity of it, has constrained medicine to one point. The only
flexibility comes seemingly from the scientific end of the teaching
and movement. This leaves the question of whether medicine is now
serving the few at the expense of the many, therefore needs to
be constrained for societies sake?
Which leads me to anther point I would like to make;
The medical profession has been stifled by its own formality and
has become unable to break away from it, why? Is it not time
to break away from the Victorian values attached to its "status"
and allow the medical profession to work with people and not
for its self?
Carol T
Feb 1998