“Risk takers unite!” says the author of this article. But in the field of medicine?
According to Geeta Nayyar, creativity and innovation are very much needed in the medical fields. And that was the thrust of a recent TED event entitled “TED MED 2012: Fusing Innovation and Art in Healthcare.” The need to do everything just right as a medical student is being challenged by the need to create, to come up with innovative solutions as well as creative health care students and practitioners to be trained to come up with new ideas and implement them. Check it out:
In the medical field, we see birth and death, joy and sadness. It’s an incredible journey through the human experience that surely isn’t as calculated or simplistic enough for one solution to really “cure.” At the heart of what many of the doctors and scientists presented at TED MED was the need to take risks in medicine, and medical education and training.
One of the speakers (who is also a radiation oncologist) drove his point home—that medical students are bred to strive towards the perfect GPA, high scores on their MCAT, and to follow the rules placed in front of them. Medical school is breeding robots.
Doctors and doctors in training are not encouraged to take risks in their careers and understand the human experience through philosophy, literature, or travel abroad. But, maybe they should be. Another speaker pointed out that of the 30 years added to life expectancy, only about 5 could actually be attributed to improved medical care. Leaving the question hanging as to all the other human factors contributing to the other 25 years added to life expectancy (ex: improved sanitation, social norms etc…) The perfect GPA and resume for medical school entrance doesn’t lend itself to exploring these other vast and important options.
Innovative minds are needed in every industry and, perhaps most of all, in medicine. Just as there continues to be a need for innovation to help solve the ailments in healthcare, there continues to be a need for innovation and creativity in shaping the medical leaders of tomorrow.
For the full article, check out, “TED MED 2012: Fusing Innovation and Art in Healthcare.”