[Death in medical practice. Excluded subjectivity].
Medical practice when facing death is reviewed in this article. It is considered the result of two circumstances. First, the development of medical technology which has been an important support to physicians, but has led them to give less importance on patient's subjectivity. Second, changes on society' attitudes toward death which over time have led to its present negation. Nowadays, doctors do not respond to the emotional needs of their patients at the end of life. Medical students should receive education to be prepared to stay close to their patients when a cure is no longer possible.
Departamento de Psicología Médica, Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Facultad de Medicina, UNAM. asun@internet.com.mx
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Alvarez
D001293:Attitude to Death; D015510:Clinical Medicine; D006801:Humans