title: What is like to be a devoted doctor? An analysis of book reports on The Painted Veil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to see what medical students think about the role of spouse of a devoted medical doctor through the book reports of The Painted Veil (1925).
  
  
  METHODS
  The 53 medical students were asked to read Maugham's The Painted Veil and to have a discussion. In their book reports, following questions were asked to be included: What it is like to be married a devoted medical doctor? Do you think that patients realize, value, and respect the importance of doctor's work? In the outbreak of highly infectious and fatal disease, can you carry out a heroic fight to control it?
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 53 respondents, seven students (13%) answered that they would be happy if they marry a devoted doctor and scientist and 34 (64%) unhappy. The remaining 12 (23%) could not make a decision. The six students (11%) answered that doctor is valued and respected by patients while 46 (87%) answered doctor is neither valued nor respected. The remaining one (2%) could not decide. The 20 students (38%) answered that they would fight for the infectious disease and the remaining 30 (57%) answered that they would not. The remaining three (5%) could not determine their mind.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Painted Veil induced a virtue of "life of balance and harmony" and "attitude of doctor who give superiority to responsibility and duty over prestige and wealth" from the medical students. It could be a good teaching material for medical humanity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Ae Yang
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Inha Research Institute for Medical Science, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Se Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Inha Research Institute for Medical Science, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Se Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D010820:Physicians; D012941:Social Responsibility; D012945:Social Values; D018454:Spouses; D013337:Students, Medical
keywords: Books; Humans; Medical students; Physicians; Writing
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