Teaching with patients, from the beginning

The New York Times had an article today about a medical school program that is turning the traditional medical student schedule on its head. New York University is now exposing students to patients from their very first day as medical students, rather than waiting until they are third year students as many traditional programs do.

NYU is not the first program to introduce a patient element in the first year of medical school. But such efforts point to medical schools' awareness that the process of medical education can be emotionally draining. Students who lose sight of why they are training to be doctors may find themselves experiencing "empathy erosion." Patient contact from the beginning helps these physicians in training remember they are learning not to treat diseases, but to treat patients.