Physicians for 'here and now'

ABSTRACT

Three reports published in the 20th century have functioned as standard guidelines for medical education the General Professional Education of the Physician report by the Association of American Medical Colleges, Tomorrow's Doctors from the General Medical Council of the UK, and Korean Physicians for the 21st Century by the Korean Association of Medical Colleges. At the moment, a great deal of innovation is occurring in Korean medical societies. However, these innovations bring to mind the parable of the blind men and an elephant in which each blind man feels part of an elephant with his hands and misunderstands the elephant's nature because he cannot see the whole animal. In the same way, there is no comprehensive picture of 'what is the good doctor' for here and now. Korean society is changing more and more rapidly in the 21st century due to influences such as an influx of immigration and resulting multiculturalism. We could not predict these changes even in the 1990s, when Korean Association for Medical Colleges was preparing its report. In light of a dynamically changing society, we must review and revise our definitions of a 'physician for here and now' every ten or twenty years.