Afflicted

How Vulnerability Can Heal Medical Education and Practice

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Reference, Ethics, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Cover of the book Afflicted by Nicole M. Piemonte, The MIT Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nicole M. Piemonte ISBN: 9780262344975
Publisher: The MIT Press Publication: January 19, 2018
Imprint: The MIT Press Language: English
Author: Nicole M. Piemonte
ISBN: 9780262344975
Publisher: The MIT Press
Publication: January 19, 2018
Imprint: The MIT Press
Language: English

How medical education and practice can move beyond a narrow focus on biological intervention to recognize the lived experiences of illness, suffering, and death.

In Afflicted, Nicole Piemonte examines the preoccupation in medicine with cure over care, arguing that the traditional focus on biological intervention keeps medicine from addressing the complex realities of patient suffering. Although many have pointed to the lack of compassion and empathy in medical practice, few have considered the deeper philosophical, psychological, and ontological reasons for it. Piemonte fills that gap, examining why it is that clinicians and medical trainees largely evade issues of vulnerability and mortality and, doing so, offer patients compromised care. She argues that contemporary medical pedagogy and epistemology are not only shaped by the human tendency to flee from the reality of death and suffering but also perpetuate it. The root of the problem, she writes, is the educational and institutional culture that promotes reductionist understandings of care, illness, and suffering but avoids any authentic confrontation with human suffering and the fear and self-doubt that can come with that confrontation. Through a philosophical analysis of the patient-practitioner encounter, Piemonte argues that the doctor, in escaping from authentic engagement with a patient who is suffering, in fact “escapes from herself.”

Piemonte explores the epistemology and pedagogy of medicine, examines its focus on calculative or technical thinking, and considers how “clinical detachment” diminishes physicians. She suggests ways that educators might cultivate the capacity for authentic patient care and proposes specific curricular changes to help students expand their moral imaginations.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How medical education and practice can move beyond a narrow focus on biological intervention to recognize the lived experiences of illness, suffering, and death.

In Afflicted, Nicole Piemonte examines the preoccupation in medicine with cure over care, arguing that the traditional focus on biological intervention keeps medicine from addressing the complex realities of patient suffering. Although many have pointed to the lack of compassion and empathy in medical practice, few have considered the deeper philosophical, psychological, and ontological reasons for it. Piemonte fills that gap, examining why it is that clinicians and medical trainees largely evade issues of vulnerability and mortality and, doing so, offer patients compromised care. She argues that contemporary medical pedagogy and epistemology are not only shaped by the human tendency to flee from the reality of death and suffering but also perpetuate it. The root of the problem, she writes, is the educational and institutional culture that promotes reductionist understandings of care, illness, and suffering but avoids any authentic confrontation with human suffering and the fear and self-doubt that can come with that confrontation. Through a philosophical analysis of the patient-practitioner encounter, Piemonte argues that the doctor, in escaping from authentic engagement with a patient who is suffering, in fact “escapes from herself.”

Piemonte explores the epistemology and pedagogy of medicine, examines its focus on calculative or technical thinking, and considers how “clinical detachment” diminishes physicians. She suggests ways that educators might cultivate the capacity for authentic patient care and proposes specific curricular changes to help students expand their moral imaginations.

More books from The MIT Press

Cover of the book Understanding Beliefs by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book The War on Learning by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book How Games Move Us by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Genetic Influences on Addiction by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Genetic Twists of Fate by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book The Making of Grand Paris by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book How Reform Worked in China by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Hijacking Sustainability by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Open Access by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Winning the Reputation Game by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Synthetic Biology and Morality by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book The Man Who Saw Tomorrow by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Polarized America by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Post-Treaty Politics by Nicole M. Piemonte
Cover of the book Philosophy of Language by Nicole M. Piemonte
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy