AAMC Division of Community and Minority Programs Minority Faculty Career Development Seminar

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University of Maryland Baltimore

Medicine as a Profession
Frank M. Calia, MD, MACP Vice Dean, School of
Medicine Senior Associate Dean for Academic
Affairs Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and
Immunology
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WORK VS. PROFESSION
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DEFINE PROFESSION

• A calling requiring specialized knowledge and
  often long and intensive academic preparation for
  a career devoted to the public good.
• Webster and Calia

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MEDICINE THE MOST ALTRUISTIC OF PROFESSIONS
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WHAT DOES IT TAKE?

• Love of science
• Love of learning
• Love of people (social science)
• Concern for fellow humans
• Other peoples needs before your own
• Work ethic
• Future orientation (delayed gratification)
• Good health

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WHAT IS NOT REQUIRED

• Genius
• Money
• Fluency in Latin
• Athleticism

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WHAT DO PHYSICIANS DO?

• Lifetime study
• Access information
• Master information technology
• Search help when necessary
• Make decisions
• Give care
• Show compassion
• Show respect

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WHAT DO PHYSICIANS DO? (cont.)

• Listen
• Prevent diseases
• Diagnose and treat
• Comfort
• Teach and inform
• Research (basic or clinical)
• Community leadership
• Maintain confidentiality

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WHAT PHYSICIANS SHOULD NOT DO

• Focus on income
• Conflict of interest
• Place own desires before patients needs
• Abandon patients
• Make value judgments

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WHAT PHYSICIANS SHOULD NOT DO (CONT.)

• Discriminate
• Betray confidence
• Neglect own health
• Fail to keep up
• Become dehumanized

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WHAT REWARDS DO PHYSICIANS GET?

• Monetary least important
• Lifetime satisfaction
• Lifetime interaction with people
• Respect from community
• Good feeling from helping/serving
• Constant intellectual renewal
• Buzz from research
• Opportunity to teach

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UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

• Fifth oldest medical school (out of 125)
• Oldest public medical school
• Exciting, innovative and evolving curriculum
• Outstanding clinical programs
• Research institution
• Committed faculty
• Involved with community
• International