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To “Medical English”

The course, “Medical English”, was established by the esteemed founding dean of our medical school, Dr. Kun-Yen Huang. It was initially offered to the first- and the second-year medical students only. When teaching, Dr. Huang unremittingly stressed the importance of learning English and cultivating a humanistic spirit in medical education. Early in his lectures, he used to explain medical terminology for the class—its origin, prefix or suffix. Latin derivation, and pronunciation—in an alphabetical order. Later on, he used materials such as articles of medical history in class, explaining medical terms and emphasizing the humane part in the development of medical ideas. The students’ responses and feedback on the course were excellent and useful. However, they had some problems with the course structure. From time to time, they were confused by the lack of clear purpose in the course and, more important, the participating instructors also felt it hard to teach English per se in medicine. Therefore, after much consideration, my colleagues and I decided to restructure the course into a reading-and discussion format and added to it a subtitle Readings in Medicine. And based on Dr. Huang’s teaching materials, we substantially expanded its content with a wide range and selected articles in English. The aim of the course is thus to introduce all the major facets of medicine to beginning students and at the same time to encourage them to establish a reading habit at the very start of their medical education.

Drawing on the full spectrum of human medicine, the collections in this book comprise stories, poems, editorials, forums, book reviews and essays written by physicians and non-physicians alike. The works record what the medical profession is like, the history and the future of medicine, recent medical breakthroughs or insights, special reports, and clinical stories. It covers articles ranging from basic bio-medicine to clinical sciences.

The collections start with a poem, entitled Prayer for Healers, which is a prayer of the Saint Francis of Assisi, an Italian monk and healer(1181-1226 A.D.); the poem asserts that a doctor should be a healer equipped with noble qualities. The Hippocratic Oath and the articles of Drs David Lansborough and Felix Marti-Ibanez advise the doctor-to-be to foster in their mind the ideal model of doctoring, which besides being technically proficient, is permeated with compassion and high moral standards.

Few subjects hold more universal appeal than that of medicine. The students enter medical school filled with idealism and clemency, wanting to know what medicine is and to do something with their lives to help their fellow human beings. It is hoped that after reading these compiled collections, the students may find something that satisfies at least part of their aspiration. At a time when medicine is becoming more technical and institutionalized, and the students are better trained but less educated, we hope that the selections in this compilation will help them realize the many benefits of being in the medical profession. It reminds them what the true goal of medicine is and helps them cultivate humanistic ideas in their minds.

Death is a very integral part of our lives that gives significant meaning to human existence. Death may be a day-to-day encounter for doctors or medical professions. Behind each death there is always a story. In Section V, Clinical Stories- Vital Signs, some tales of dying are presented that reveal not only why but also how someone dies. The stories are very touching and moving, they tell of the great empathy doctors feel toward their dying patients. Also included in the collections are five articles of thanatology-the study of death. The students are instructed to take death as a natural reality of life, nothing strange about it. From the death of a single damaged cell, a diseased plant, a dying animal, to an aged or ailing patient, death is regarded as a natural and unavoidable fact of life. The article Death, the Final Stage of Growth is very inspiring, and tells of this final chapter of life. The poem entitled The Five Stages of Grief depicts the deep sorrow and recovery after losing a loved one; it is a poem full of emotion and charged with tender sentiment. Euthanasia, the controversial topic of modern medicine, is also included. It encourages discussion and deeper thinking into the doctor’s role in relieving a patient’s suffering at the end of life.

It is hoped that by reading these articles, the students will come to learn and improve their English, to appreciate the broad spectrum of medical science and the intimate involvement of humanity in medicine, and to encourage them to become avid readers of articles pertaining to medicine throughout their lifetimes.

Professor Eric I. C. Li, the Compiler

January 30, 2000