Reconciling with medicine's imperfect icons
ACP's Vice President of Membership and Global Engagement, Philip A. Masters, MD, FACP, writes at KevinMD about the importance of considering the flaws in our heroes.
There are many historical examples of esteemed individuals whose achievements conflict with their personal beliefs and actions, writes ACP's Vice President of Membership and Global Engagement, Philip A. Masters, MD, FACP, in his latest KevinMD column. In medicine, two examples are Johns Hopkins and Sir William Osler, about whom new information has conflicted with their historical idealistic portrayals. It is important for physicians to learn personal lessons from the imperfections of those they have esteemed, Dr. Masters argues.
“By understanding their human flaws, we can hopefully better recognize the different elements of our own character and the personal biases we undoubtedly hold, either cognizant or implicit, that we could potentially convey to others,” he writes. “This is important because, whether we realize it or not, each of us is almost certainly both an icon and role model to others, and our beliefs, attitudes, and actions, in addition to our accomplishments, can make a profound difference in the lives of those who see us this way.”