Flashcards on The Goals of Medicine and Ethical Priorities
The Goals of Medicine and Ethical Priorities Explained
Tap to flip · Swipe to navigate
Goals of Medicine: Principles & Scope
89 cards
Card 1
Question: What are the four broad goals of medicine as listed in the text?
Answer: Prevention of disease and promotion of health; relief of pain and suffering; treatment of disease and care of those who cannot be cured; avoidance of
Card 2
Question: How does the text define 'health'?
Answer: The experience of well-being and integrity of mind and body, characterized by an acceptable absence of significant malady and by a person's ability to
Card 3
Question: Why does the author reject the 1947 WHO definition of health as 'complete physical, mental, and social well-being'?
Answer: Because it is impossible for medicine to bring about 'complete' well-being; some degree of malady is part of every person's life, so aiming for 'compl
Card 4
Question: What paradoxical quality of good health is described in the text?
Answer: Good health is precious but largely invisible to the person experiencing it because the body functions without trouble or stress.
Card 5
Question: According to the definition given, what two aspects does the concept of health emphasize?
Answer: Bodily wholeness/general well-working (absence of malfunction) and the resulting capacity to act in the world (pursue vital goals and function sociall
Card 6
Question: How does the text describe the relationship between health and sickness?
Answer: Health and sickness are not a sharp dichotomy; disease and malady can have varying impacts on people's lives.
Card 7
Question: Why is focusing on the person important when discussing concepts like health, disease, illness, and malady?
Answer: Because good medicine ordinarily begins with the person who is ill and seeks to be healthy, grounding definitions in the lived experience of well-bein
Card 8
Question: What are two critical fields of health care that should work more closely together according to the text?
Answer: Medicine and public health.
Card 9
Question: Why is greater cooperation between medicine and public health needed?
Answer: Because public health can track patterns of disease through epidemiology and make that knowledge available, while medicine has access to individual pa
Card 10
Question: What capability makes public health well positioned to help physicians?
Answer: Epidemiological capacities to track patterns of disease, accident, and disability and share that knowledge.