Do your best: PM Lee

May 16, 2009

Do your best: PM Lee

		Students must also learn to operate under stressful medical settings. --PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

PRIME Minister Lee Hsien Loong spelled out five reasons why doctors have to do their best, professionally, ethically, and as a compassionate human being, in their chosen vocation.

'Then we can keep on raising our standards of medical care, and improving the lives of all Singaporeans,' he said at the Singapore Medical Association's 50th anniversary dinner at the Fullerton Hotel on Saturday night.

RELATED LINKS Speech by PM Lee

In his address, PM Lee acknowledged that medical schools have the enormous task of preparing future doctors for this challenging profession.

'Equipping students with the requisite medical knowledge is itself an arduous undertaking, but it is not enough. Students must also learn to operate under stressful medical settings, and most of all, imbibe a deep sense of humanity and compassion,' he said.

'As we update our medical school curriculum to include all the new knowledge and skills that students must absorb, something has to give. Our future doctors must still learn about the human and emotional aspects of doctoring, and will have to do so in other ways, as they progress through medical school and beyond.'

The five reasons on why doctors, despite having a difficult job, must do their best as given by Mr Lee:

First, they have to be perpetually learning and relearning, to keep abreast of the flood of medical knowledge that is expanding day-by-day, at least in their area of specialty.

Second, they must always do what is best for the patient.

'The patient has the final say, but he relies heavily on you for advice. After all you are his doctor, and you know much more about his condition and about medicine than he does,' said Mr Lee. 'So patients always say 'doctor's orders', and never 'doctor?s advice'.

'So your advice must always be honest, well-founded, and based on what is in the patient's best interest.'

He also urged doctors to use their position of authority to counsel and badger patients to tackle the problems underlying their medical conditions.

Third, doctors are expected to uphold the highest ethical standards.

Said Mr Lee: 'To be a good doctor you must not only know medicine well, and be able to diagnose and treat conditions. You must also have integrity, recommending treatments or drugs only when they are necessary, and not because you will gain financially from it.

'Take a broad view of your role, especially if you are a leader in the profession. Do not focus only on servicing your own patients, but also mentor younger doctors who are still learning their craft, and teach them the skills, values and ethos to become good doctors in time.'

Fourth, doctors need to have a good systems view of the whole healthcare system.

'It is inherently difficult for a doctor, trained to do what is best for individual patients, also to think in terms of what works for the whole medical system. These are two different casts of mind and disciplines of thinking,' explained Mr Lee.

'But the soundness of the medical system makes a big difference to the overall healthcare outcomes of the country. Doctors need to understand this, to appreciate what the constraints are, and how their own contribution fits into the whole. Only then will the whole system work well.'

Fifth, doctors must value the human relationship between doctor and patient.

'The mission of a doctor is not simply to heal illnesses but also to treat patients. This requires respect and empathy for your patients and their families,' said Mr Lee.

'You must not only treat the physical ailments, but also lend a sympathetic ear to your patients and respond to their need for reassurance and emotional support.'

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