Talk:Humanistic medicine

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[edit] First world

Does "first world" narrow the scope of the topic too much? Couldn't medical centers and care givers in "third world" nations provide humanistic care as well?-Abcfox 19:21, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

In my opinion, the problem is modern healthcare, with its many machines and robots that do work for the caregiver, patients are being dehumanized, and it's up to physicians and healthcare workers to provide humanistic medicine to help counteract that. -Abcfox 19:21, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

 I think that the argument that the need for humanistic medicine in the first world is more 

prevalent because of the dehumanizing effects of beaurocratic and technological processes

within modern medicine expresses a lack of understanding of what truly prevents healthcare providers 

from connecting with their patients. Their is a cultural status diffference between docotor and patient, and this inflates physicians' egoes and makes them seem less accessible to patients. The need for "professionalism" (i.e. the stigma against expressing emotion) further impairs the connection between provider and patient (I would argue that this divide is stigma is less powerful among nurses). To my mind, both of these problems would be exacerbated in the third world because of a trend to immitate Western culture, and because of the more drastic divide between the sexes.

69.137.135.229 04:39, 4 December 2006 (UTC)David Springs, University of Pennsylvania