What if we educated doctors this way?

What if we educated doctors this way?John Gardner, PhD, PEProfessor of Mechanical & Biomedical EngineeringAssociate Vice PresidentBoise State University

Faculty Meeting in a Medical School

How can we define the “Ideal Doctor”•Survey people•Ask Hospital Administrators•Ask Health Insurance Managers•Ask CEO’s of large medical care groups

like St. Al’s

Some likely features

•Good understanding of the bottom line•Good employees•Understand the big picture•Have an understanding of accounting and

finance issues

ABET Engineering Accreditation Criteria•Criterion 2. Program Educational

Objectives•(a) published educational objectives that

are consistent with the mission of the institution and these criteria

•(b) a process that periodically documents and demonstrates that the objectives are based on the needs of the program's various constituencies

But who are our Constituencies?

What’s the fundamental tenet of medical ethics?•Primum non nocere

•First, do no harm

What’s the fundamental tentet of engineering ethics?•Hold paramount the safety, health and

welfare of the public

Where’s the public?

What does it mean…

•To hold paramount public safety▫… while being a good employee ?

Engineering Enrollments

•(A) Not enough engineers•(B) Not enough minorities•(C) Not enough women

Same time, different profession…

• Source: Association of American Medical Colleges

And from the lawyers…% Women 2000 2009 %change

Lawyers 28.9% 31% 7.2%

In Law School 47% 46.9% (0.2%)

US Circuit Court

16% 26.9% 7.2%

In ABA 28.5% 33.5% 17.5%

AP Course Participation

Figure F. Percent of public high school graduates of 2000 who had taken various mathematics and science courses in high school, by sex: 2000

• Source: Engineering Trends (www.engtrends.com)

What if…

•What if we truly embraced our code of ethics?

•What if we truly “Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public”?

•What if we designed our curriculum and programs around that central theme?

•What if we taught engineering students to solve Problems with a capital “P” instead of teaching them to design widgets?

What if we educated engineers that way?