To illustrate the public relations crisis facing the profession, he discussed two popular television shows: “Marcus Welby, MD” from the late 1960s, which featuring a caring primary care physician who didn’t charge patients who couldn’t afford it and “House,” which features drug-addicted, narcissistic but talented physician Gregory House, MD.
Dr. Klasko explores how the public perception of physicians has changed so drastically and points to a lack of consideration for or training on teamwork and collaboration as a core contributor. He writes:
“In 2012, we still accept medical students in this country based on their science GPA, ability to memorize organic chemistry formulas and scores on the MCATs. Yet somehow we are amazed that doctors are not more empathetic, communicative and creative.”
He also cites a study demonstrating physicians’ lack of collaborative skills.
“In one study, we compared physicians and MBAs from around the country. We challenged the participants to participate in a ‘pheasant egg auction.’ The rules of the auction were designed so that solving the problem required collaboration, creativity and navigating ambiguity. That was no problem for the MBAs; 82 percent of them reached an ‘everybody wins’ scenario. But only 11 percent of the docs were able to find a solution.”
In an attempt to bring address this lack of collaboration, Dr. Klasko discusses USF College of Medicine’s efforts to expand admissions criteria to consider qualities such as emotional intelligence, self-awarness and empathy. Specifically, the college uses the SELECT (Scholarly Excellence, Leadership Experiences, Collaborative Training) admissions criteria when selecting future healthcare providers, and hopes the program can serve as a model to others and bring about change in how physicians are selected and trained in the future.
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