A great physician is made one patient at a time, University of Utah School of Medicine graduates were told at their commencement Saturday.
Elizabeth Allen, associate dean of student affairs and education at the medical school, shared her experience, not only as a doctor, but also as a patient. She was diagnosed with cancer in July and entered "the surreal world" of a patient.
"I was not only a patient," Allen said. "I was a sick person."
Medical school may teach students to maintain a certain distance from their future patients, but they should not be too far removed, she said.
"If you delve into your patients' suffering, you'll be uplifted and enriched instead of discouraged and defeated," Allen said. "Step down from your role and join in your patients' sorrows and triumphs."
Allen discovered she wanted to be healed from her cancer as well as cured. While both have essentially the same definition, being healed implies psychological and emotional, along with physical well-being, she said.
"I believe this is the healing role of a physician, to assist patients in healing themselves," Allen said.
Graduates took the oath of Hippocrates, in which they consecrated their lives to the service of humanity.
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