Pursuing medicine means to a large extent pursuing medical science. A medical career also includes a substantial amount of writing, particularly for those who enter academia. Apart from science, during their professional lifetimes medical people are exposed to thousands of life stories, into which they, by necessity, intrude. Dealing with individual illnesses, and thus patients' bodies, brings doctors uniquely close to other people— even closer than other "listeners" such as lawyers or priests. Naturally, this entire sphere is confidential, but it still makes physicians more informed of the human condition than other groups in society.
展开▼