The Pursuit Of Medical Knowledge Analysis

In the article The pursuit of medical knowledge and the potential consequences of the hidden curriculum by Barret Michaelec first year and second year preclinical medical students were interviewed in order to help determine how their pursuit for medical knowledge affected their perceptions and interactions with the world outside of medical school. The students commonly reported that their submergence in medicine affected their communication with others, relationships, and how they perceived their external lives.
This struggle the students encounter ties directly into Mary Shelly’s, Frankenstein, in a sense that both the alumni and Victor Frankenstein’s pursuit for knowledge presents them with unaccounted for difficulties. For the med students “their pursuit of medical knowledge, and the grueling nature of that pursuit, keeps them at a social, emotional, and even intellectual distance from those outside of medicine” (Michaelec 10). The same can be said for Victor Frankenstein, his pursuit for knowledge detached him from his sanity, his friends and family, and others who did not attribute his intelligence.
The students mentioned how their preclinical training minimized their social network. Generally all med students take the same courses and training so naturally they spend more time with other medical students oppose to those who are not. All of their time is invested in their educational careers that even when they do find the time to be with non-med friends they have a hard time finding a topic, not related to medicine, that they can converse about. As one student states, “ You know, you’re around this stuff all the time. It’s what you talk about when you’re in class, out of class, on the weekends, you make jokes about it. So that sort of thing puts up a wall between you and the people in your life who aren’t in medicine.” The communication gap exists not only with their outside friends but also with their families and patients. Much like their non-med friends, their families are not acquainted with subjects the students are studying so conversation can be limiting. However, the fact that it’s family does not make it as complicated as with other people. Students did feel, to some extent, that they can’t relate as much as they used to with family, friends, and even when meeting new people. Similarly when med students were in clinics shadowing or assisting doctors they found it difficult to connect with patients due to the fact that most lay people do not have the same medical knowledge the students do. Additionally, med students mentioned that in medical school they are drilled with the idea that their level of intellect and social status is superior above others. For instance …show more content…
Statistical evidence could not be possible in this study due to the fact that it was conducted only in one medical school and only 10 students were interviewed. The students could have potentially had a selection bias since they were chosen at will oppose to at random. The argument could have been supported with more credible evidence to portray a stronger point. Additionally, the article did not provide an opposing side. There is no clear rebuttal that would state alternative sources of the communication-gap and knowledge gap experienced by the medical