Articles: patients.
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The patient-physician relationship, especially in the case of severely ill patients, is often fraught with anxiety, grief, and guilt in the physician who may come to feel that he or she has failed the patient and thereby becomes a "second victim." This notion was first explored in a 1973 publication (Artiss and Levine N Engl J Med 288(23):1210-4, 1973) that described a novel interactive seminar series for oncology fellows that had been designed to address and possibly remedy the frequent disquiet experienced by young physicians in this setting. Fifty years later, the medical student co-authors of this Perspective enrolled in an elective course that comprised a similar series of interactive seminars, now addressing the contemporary patient-physician relationship. The earlier paper was employed as a historical background, and the framework of the course then broadened such that the students considered the current environmental changes in medical practice (social, cultural, financial, legal, policy) that may be linked to the character of individual patient-physician relationships. This essay reports on the students' perception of such relationships, and on the environmental elements that may be helpful or harmful to the well-being of both patients and physicians.
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Editorial Review
Learning from the multidisciplinary team: advancing patient care through collaboration.
Training for doctors, and other healthcare workers, has traditionally focussed on developing the knowledge and technical skills relevant to individual specialties. There has been an assumption that once trained in this way, we will be able to work easily and effectively in teams with other professionals. ⋯ Healthcare staff who are already qualified have not had the benefit of being taught the particular skills needed to work well as part of diverse teams, nor given the skills to identify and overcome barriers to effective teamwork. We all need to develop these skills to help our patients get the best care from the teams looking after them.