ICC 7001: The Physician's Oath

ICC week was capped off by a ceremony honoring residents who were nominated by medical students for their exceptional humanism in the manner in which they practice medicine. Just like honoring rising fourth-year medical students during the White Coat ceremony, this is another example of leading by example: this ceremony was meant in part to show me what kind of doctor I should strive to be.

At the end of the ceremony, as per tradition, we all recited the Physician's Oath:

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will educate my fellow humans so they may avoid illness, and whenever possible, I will prevent disease in the recognition that prevention is far better than cure.

I will counsel my patients to the best of my ability, and apprise them of all medical and social options, my own personal biases aside.

The health of my patient will be my first consideration, and I will apply for the benefit of the sick, all measure that are required.

I will recognize the privilege and art of medicine, maintaining that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh medicine's scientific interventions.

I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity, and I will maintain the honor and the noble traditions of the medical profession.

I will uphold and promote ethical conduct with my profession.

I will respect the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship, keeping those confidences entrusted to me.

I will recognize my limitations, and I will not hesitate to call upon my colleagues when the skills of another are needed.

I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude that is their due, and I will help teach my colleagues and future generations of physicians.

I will be dedicated to medicine and my community. I will be true to myself, my family, and those close to me. I will celebrate this gift of life, as I help others.

-- Anonymous

ICC 7001: What is ICC?

So, what is ICC, anyways? I've been telling everyone who asks me that it is essentially an orientation week for rising third-year medical students about to start their very first clinical rotations. That's partly true.

Now that I have gone through my first ICC, I can affirmatively tell you what it is. ICC stands for Integrated Clinician's Course. Similar to the Foundations of Doctoring course that is spread out across all four years of medical school, ICC is spread out over the last two clinical years. Quoting from the packet of information given to us at the beginning of the week, ICC has two specific goals:

The first is to provide important skills and knowledge in areas that are vital to the practice of medicine, but often difficult to teach in the clinical care setting. These topics include health policy, ethics, clinical decision-making, and cultural competency, as well as clinically relevant basic science material and advanced clinical skills, particularly those that span multiple disciplines. The second but no less important goal is to provide time and opportunity to rhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifeflect on and discuss the process of becoming a physician.

We've had some informational lectures about the clinical years; we've had some educational lectures on topics such as the history of health care in the United States (literally from colonial times to the current health care debate), coping with death and dying, end-of-life planning, and the legal obligations of medicine.

We completed another basic cardiac life support (BCLS) training session, which was notable for changing the alphabet from ABC to CAB. The new CPR guidelines say to prioritize chest compressions and worry about airway and breathing second. We also completed intubation and IV workshops, which were both helpful even though I've done them before.

I'll talk about some of the more memorable sessions in other posts.